Barriers to women's health: why is it so hard for women to stay healthy?

Abstract

Women's health care has made great strides in the past two decades. The recognition that women have different health care needs than men has enabled changes to take place in clinical care, research, and education. However, much remains to be done. Providing health care coverage to all women must be a high priority. Research must address the differences between men and women and how they respond to disease and treatment. The physician workforce needs to be expanded; physicians should be well trained to provide comprehensive health care to women. Strategies, such as used in Comprehensive Centers of Women's Health and women's health residencies, can improve education and increase the number of women in academia.