Utah Women's Health Coalition

Vision: Connecting Utah Women to Wellness

Mission: To promote optimal health for all Utah women through collaborative planning, community action and policy / systems change

Priorites:
- Coordinate activities and engage in collaborative efforts whenever possible to achieve our mission
- Share information about how to promote optimal women’s health for all Utah women women
- Provide guidance and advice to the Utah Women’s Health Information Network (UWIN) and others about how to promote optimal health for Utah women

Gender-Based Health Issues: Why is it important to look at health based on gender?

According to the Institute of Medicine report entitled Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health: Does Sex Matter?, males and females have different patterns of illness and different life spans.  The report highlights differences in the prevalence and severity of a broad range of diseases, disorders, and conditions between the sexes and can found online at http://www.iom.edu/en/Reports/2003/Exploring-the-Biological-Contributions-to-Human-Health-Does-Sex-Matter.aspx

A recent study notes it is an accepted fact that women live longer than men, current life expectancy for men in the United States if approximately 75 years for men versus 81 years for women; however women report experiencing poorer health than men on a variety of condition which may be explained by socio-economic and psychosocial differences. Read more (pdf) ...