National Studies show that women's healthcare needs differ significantly from those of men. Even the type of healthcare services used show differences between women and men. It is important for women to know how specific health conditions affect them and what preventative measures can be taken to improve their health and well being.

Major research studies are now focusing on women's health issues. The largest and most comprehensive is the Nurse's Health Study at the Harvard School of Public Health. The National Institutes of Health is studying trends in women's health as well as the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention with their Wise Woman Projects.

Resources

• MedlinePlus

  "MedlinePlus will direct you to information to help answer health questions. MedlinePlus brings together authoritative information from NLM, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations."

• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

  "Founded in 1951 in Chicago, Illinois, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has over 52,000 members and is the nation's leading group of professionals providing health care for women. Now based in Washington, DC, it is a private, voluntary, nonprofit membership organization."

• National Women's Health Information Center

  "The National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC) is a service of the Office on Women's Health (OWH) in the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Its vision is to ensure that, 'All Women and Girls are Healthier and Have a Better Sense of Well Being.'"

• National Women's Health Resource Center

  The National Women's Health Resource Center is a non-profit organization, "celebrating 20 years of providing women in-depth, objective, physician-approved information on a broad range of women's health issues."

• OBGYN.net

  "OBGYN.net is an ever growing and expanding universe with over 1,000,000 pages of educational content, discussion forums, videos, educational tutorials, images, and more."

• National Institutes of Health

  "The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research. Helping to lead the way toward important medical discoveries that improve people's health and save lives, NIH scientists investigate ways to prevent disease as well as the causes, treatments, and even cures for common and rare diseases. Composed of 27 Institutes and Centers, the NIH provides leadership and financial support to researchers in every state and throughout the world."

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

  "The website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.gov) is CDC's primary online communication channel. CDC.gov provides users with credible, reliable health information on: Data and Statistics, Diseases and Conditions, Emergencies and Disasters, Environmental Health, Healthy Living, Life Stages and Populations, Workplace Safety and more."