Women's Health
“Shining a light on sex-based differences can result in better health and health care for everybody. We continually ask: ‘How do health care and policy need to be designed to meet men and women’s unique differences?’”
Katherine M. Newton, PhD
Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute Senior Investigator (Emeritus)
Research overview
Women are most of the world’s population, but for many years, much health research has focused on men. Women face unique health choices about birth control and pregnancy, cancer screening, preventing osteoporosis, and treating menopause symptoms. Studies by Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) investigators are helping women make the best decisions for a long and healthy life.
“We’re studying all the major health experiences and conditions of women’s lives,” said Katherine M. Newton, PhD, KPWHRI senior investigator (emeritus). In addition to studying “equal-opportunity” conditions such as heart disease, which are common in men and women, Kaiser Permanente Washington investigators study women’s health issues such as:
- Breast and cervical cancer screening and treatment;
- Osteoporosis and bone health;
- Contraception and pregnancy;
- Reproductive health, including sexually transmitted diseases;
- Urinary tract infections; and
- Menopause symptoms and treatments.
Results from KPWHRI studies improve care locally and globally. Work by Delia Scholes, PhD, senior investigator, has contributed to broadly adopted public health policies such as Chlamydia screening to reduce pelvic inflammatory disease and contraceptive guidelines from the World Health Organization. “It’s been wonderful to find that what we are learning at Kaiser Permanente Washington can be part of improved health care for women everywhere,” Dr. Scholes said.
Since 2007, KPWHRI has hosted postdoctoral researchers in women’s health through a T32 Training Award called “Health Care Improvement for Aging Women” from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Andrea LaCroix, PhD, senior investigator, is the principal investigator and program director. Drs. Newton and Scholes are co-directors.
Recent publications on Women's Health
Souter V, Nethery E, Kopas ML, Wurz H, Sitcov K, Caughey AB. Comparison of midwifery and obstetric care in low-risk hospital births. Obstet Gynecol. 2019 Nov;134(5):1056-1065. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000003521. PubMed
Shadyab AH, Manson JE, Li W, Gass M, Brunner RL, Naughton MJ, Cannell B, Howard BV, LaCroix AZ. Associations of parental ages at childbirth with healthy aging among women. Maturitas. 2019;129:6-11. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2019.08.002. Epub 2019 Aug 10. PubMed
Marcum ZA, Vasan S, Tom S, Hart L, Wang Y, Shadyab AH, LaCroix AZ, Gray SL. Self-reported barriers to medication use in older women: findings from the Women's Health Initiative. J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2019 Aug 9. pii: S1544-3191(19)30339-5. doi: 10.1016/j.japh.2019.07.003. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Anthony MS, Armstrong MA, Getahun D, Scholes D, Gatz J, Schulze-Rath R, Postlethwaite D, Merchant M, Alabaster AL, Chillemi G, Raine-Bennett T, Xie F, Chiu VY, Im TM, Takhar HS, Fassett M, Grafton J, Cronkite D, Ichikawa L, Reed SD, Hui SL, Ritchey ME, Saltus CW, Andrews EB, Rothman KJ, Asiimwe A, Lynen R, Schoendorf J. Identification and validation of uterine perforation, intrauterine device expulsion, and breastfeeding in four health care systems with electronic health records. Clin Epidemiol. 2019 Jul 23;11:635-643. doi: 10.2147/CLEP.S201044. eCollection 2019. PubMed
Wernli KJ, Brandzel SD, Buist DM, Bush M, DeMartini W, Ichikawa L, Haas C, Henderson LM, Johnson D, Kerlikowske K, McColgin D, Miglioretti DL, Nekhlyudov L, Onega T, Rosenberg DE. Is breast MRI better at finding second breast cancers than mammograms alone for breast cancer survivors? Washington, DC: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). 2019. https://doi.org/10.25302/5.2019.CE.13046656.
Researchers in Women's Health
 Katherine M. Newton, PhDSenior Investigator (Emeritus) |
 Diana S. Buist, PhD, MPHDirector of Research and Strategic Partnerships; Senior Investigator |
 Diana L. Miglioretti, PhDSenior Investigator, KPWHRI; Dean’s Professor of Biostatistics, University of California, Davis |
 Karen J. Sherman, PhDSenior Investigator |
 Sascha Dublin, MD, PhDSenior Investigator |
 Karen Wernli, PhDAssociate Investigator |
 Erin J. Bowles, MPHResearch Associate |
 Laura E. Ichikawa, MPHSenior Biostatistician |
 Jennifer F. Bobb, PhDAssistant Investigator |
 Gaia Pocobelli, PhDResearch Associate |
 Laura Harrington, PhD, MPHAssistant Investigator |
 Paige D. Wartko, Phd, MPHResearch Associate |
 Andrea Z. LaCroix, PhDSenior Investigator, KPWHRI; Professor and Chief of Epidemiology, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego |
Affiliate researchers
Amy Bonomi, PhD, MPH
The Ohio State University Department of Human Development and Family Science
Linda LeResche, ScD
University of Washington (UW) Department of Oral Medicine
Susan D. Reed, MD, MPH
Harborview Medical Center; UW Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Rachel Winer, PhD, MPH
Fred Hutchinson/UW Cancer Consortium; UW Department of Epidemiology
cancer screening
Mailing home HPV test may offer alternative to Pap screen
Dr. Diana Buist and team reflect on HOME trial showing 50 percent screening boost in underscreened women.
Healthy Findings Blog
How should we screen for gestational diabetes?
In our learning health system, we discovered that a new screening approach had increased diagnoses without improving overall outcomes. So remarkably, we switched back.
Read it in Healthy Findings.
Latest News
Study finds various treatments can reduce vaginal discomfort from sex
Dr. Katherine Newton co-wrote JAMA Internal Medicine paper comparing vaginal estrogen, moisturizer, and placebo gel.
Read it in News and Events.
cancer
What to expect after a screening breast MRI vs. mammography alone
Diana Buist and BCSC find screening MRI leads to more biopsies, finding fewer cancers, regardless of personal history of breast cancer: JAMA Internal Medicine.
Read it in Healthy Findings.
Recent News
Bariatric surgery may lower cancer risk in people with severe obesity
Dr. David Arterburn and colleagues report encouraging findings about how weight loss surgery may affect cancer development—particularly in women.
Read about it in News and Events.
Funding News
KPWHRI shares in $17 million grant to improve breast screening
National Cancer Institute support continues nation's largest collection of breast imaging data and funds three studies to personalize screening.
Read it in News and Events.
KPWHRI In the Media
CT scan use in pregnancy rose in U.S. and Canada over two decades
Pregnant women exposed to more risky CT scans
HealthDay, Jul 24, 2019
KPWHRI In the Media
How should we screen for gestational diabetes?
A learning health system story: perinatal outcomes associated with a major change in gestational diabetes screening
NIH Collaboratory Living Textbook of Pragmatic Clinical Trials, Jan 29, 2019
