Black Women's Health Imperative

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:37:47 -0400

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Inside Donate Now

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 11:21:13 -0500

Your tax-deductible donation brings us closer to the realization of our mission: To promote optimum health for the nation's 19.5 million Black women and girls - physically, mentally and spiritually - through education, advocacy and leadership development.

Make a one-time or monthly contribution now by selecting ?general gift? from the right navigation menu or if you prefer, you can also make a general donation by calling 202-548-4000 or downloading our donation form and mailing it to Black Women's Health Imperative, Attn: Donations, 1726 M Street, N.W., Suite 300, Washington, D.C., 20036.

You can also decide to make a memorial or tribute gift and learn how to donate through your workplace giving program or planned giving.

Inside the Imperative

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 02:51:11 -0400

The Black Women's Health Imperative (Imperative) is the only organization devoted solely to advancing the health and wellness of America's 19.5 million Black women and girls through advocacy, community health and wellness education and leadership development. Founded as the National Black Women's Health Project in 1983 by health activist and McArthur genius Byllye Y. Avery, the Imperative promotes optimal health for African American women across their lifespan - physically, mentally and spiritually.

For us, health is not merely the absence of illness, but the active promotion of physical, spiritual, mental and emotional wellness of this and future generations. Since our beginning in Atlanta, Ga., when we led the fight for a broader and more responsible reproductive health and rights agenda for women of color, we have become the leading force for the elimination of racial and gender-related health disparities for African American women.

What We Do

The Imperative seeks to improve the health and wellness of Black women by providing health resources and information, community health and wellness education, promoting advocacy and health policies, and interpreting and issuing reports on relevant research about the health status of America's Black women. We offer our members culturally appropriate tools and information to be an informed and empowered healthcare consumer.

It is the aim of the Imperative to harness the collective power of Black women by bringing together individual women and affiliated women's organizations together around a common health agenda. Utilizing its structure of affiliated organizations, the Imperative is well positioned to create new ways of working together to help establish a national agenda on health disparities for Black women. Our goal is to create awareness among our key constituencies, work collaboratively with our community in the sharing of health information and build the capacity of African American women to advocate for and secure the preventive care and treatment they need.

What We Offer

Ask the Expert
Physician Locator Service
Public Education Forums
Education Campaigns
Public Awareness Surveys and Polls
Interactive Assessment Tools
E-newsletters
Healthy Living Resources

At the heart of our work is a comprehensive approach that is guided by a collective vision and a proven C.A.R.E. framework:

Community engagement: We strive to connect to the community and serve as a catalyst and support for changing policies, programs, and practices by working collaboratively with community partners and building coalitions to help mobilize resources, influence systems and change relationships and behaviors within communities and families.
Advocacy: We strive to be the largest, most powerful and influential national advocacy network of Black women who are trained, active advocates for health equity and justice at the local and national levels.
Resources and research: We strive to be widely recognized and highly regarded as a credible information source on Black women's health by Black women who are healthcare consumers and caregivers, health care practitioners, policy makers, women's organizations, health industries and the media. We also strive to promote important, cutting-edge research to increase the body of knowledge on the health of Black women.
Education: We strive to educate, inform and increase awareness of health issues so that Black women can become savvy health care consumers.

Our Story

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:46:38 -0400

"Magic!" That's how Byllye Y. Avery, our founder, described that first conference at Spelman College in 1983 in Atlanta, Ga., which birthed the National Black Women's Health Project (The Project). The lasting legacy of that conference and the organization that sprung from it is due to the empowerment of countless Black women.

The Project is now called the Black Women's Health Imperative (Imperative), reinforcing the fact that it is imperative that we move beyond documenting the enormous health disparities that exist for Black women, and focus our efforts on actionable steps to eliminate them.

To ensure that happens, the Imperative works at the national and local levels, where we bring the perspectives and often missing voices of African American women to the ongoing health policy debates. We also join in partnerships with health coalitions and organizations to develop community-based strategies to reach out and affect change individually, locally, regionally and nationally.

Since inception, the organization has been in the forefront of women's health issues, promoting responsible and healthy sexual behavior through comprehensive public education initiatives that promote overall wellness of Black women. In 1990, we opened a public education and policy office in Washington, D.C., the seat of policy and advocacy for reproductive rights. But, it was not until 1995 that the board realized the opportunity to become better positioned to address the massive challenges of racial and gender-based health disparities affecting Black women. A decision was made to establish a national presence in the nation's capital and relocate our national headquarters to Washington, D.C.

With a broadened structure of national and local affiliated organizations and a change in name to the Black Women's Health Imperative in 2002, the Imperative instituted aggressive national programs in health policy, education, research, knowledge and leadership development and communications to save and extend the lives of Black women.

Presently, the organization continues to be dedicated to promoting physical, mental and spiritual health and well-being for the nation's 19.5 million African American women and girls.

Historical Chronology

1981
Established as a program of the National Women's Health Network.
Opened first office in Atlanta, Ga.
1983
Convened the First National Conference on Black Women's Health Issues at Spelman College, marking the official birth of the Black Women's Health Project as an independent organization.
Developed the signature self-help methodology through "SisterCircle" sessions, empowering Black women to attain healthy living and overall physical, mental and spiritual wellness.
Published first issue of Vital Signs as a health news magazine.
1984
Incorporated and renamed the Black Women's Health Project to the National Black Women's Health Project.
Purchased national headquarters in Atlanta. It became known as "Phoebe House."
Initiated quarterly Task Force Meetings, as a mechanism, to gather information on Black women's health experiences for shaping our perspectives and agenda on health.
1985
Headed a delegation of 25 women to Kenya for the UN Decade for Women to share our self-help methodology and to network with women worldwide.
Produced a video titled "It's Up to Us" to rally a grassroots health empowerment movement.
1986
Conducted a conference with the Women and Development Unit of the University of the West Indies (WAND) in Barbados titled "Dialogue Across the Diaspora," on physical, mental and spiritual aspects of women's health and self-help. The conference was attended by a diverse group of women from the United States, the Caribbean Islands, South America and Africa, focusing on health issues of women from several Caribbean countries, including Barbados, Jamaica and Belize.
1987
Produced "On Becoming a Woman: Mothers and Daughters Talking Together," a video designed to stimulate honest and open family dialogue about menstruation and reproductive health.
Partnered with the Belizean Rural Women's association to provide training and technical assistance in Belize for the organization to launch and sustain health education programs on gynecological health and self-help trainings.
1988
Established the Center for Black Women's Wellness in the Mechanicsville Public Housing community in Atlanta as a model for community-based health education and service provision.
1989
Initiated SisteReach, an international program to share self-help methodology and reproductive health organizing with women in Nigeria, Cameroon and Brazil.
Produced "Becoming a Cameroonian Woman," a sequel to the organization's film "On Becoming a Woman."
1990
Opened public education and policy office in Washington, D.C.
1991
Launched Walking for Wellness as a fitness Program with Olympic gold medalist Wilma Rudolph leading the organization's inaugural event at Disney World.
Produced "It's OK to Peek," a gynecological, self-examination video.
1993
Participated in an exchange program with South African women to address issues of domestic violence, sexual and child abuse, HIV/AIDS, personal self-help and community empowerment.
1994
Celebrated our 10th anniversary with a conference that featured Dr. Jocelyn Elders, Angela Davis, Johnnetta B. Cole and Renita Weems.
Opened The Well, California Black Women's Health Project, as a state field office in Los Angeles.
Participated in the International Conference on Population and Development.
Published "Body & Soul: The Black Women's Guide to Physical Health and Emotional Well-Being," by Linda Villarosa.
1995
Relocated the national headquarters to Washington, D.C.
Mobilized other women of color organizations to develop and present a "women of color" health agenda at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China.
1997
Implemented substance abuse prevention programs on eight Historically Black College and University (HBCU) campuses.
Published the first issue of the Sister Ink newsletter.
Established and presented the first Women Who Dare Award to Alice Walker.
1998
Published "Our Bodies, Our Voices, Our Choices: A Black Woman's Primer on Reproductive Health and Rights."
1999
Participated in the Fifth General Assembly of the Association of African Women for Research and Development.
Celebrated The Healing Vision of Toni Morrison upon the publication of the book "Paradise" with a reception in Washington, D.C.
2000
Launched REACH 2010: At the Heart of New Orleans, a five-year, community, participatory-research project as a coalition of community groups, city and state health departments, the local public library, a historically Black university and 40 churches. It was funded to address health risk factors for heart disease among Black women in metropolitan New Orleans.
Conducted a nationwide consumer health survey in collaboration with the University of Memphis Center for Community Health to assess psychosocial factors that impact health and utilization of health services among Black women.
2001
Opened a field office in New Orleans.
Produced a video for mothers and teen daughters, titled "Let Me Know. What's Going On? My Body, My Self, My Life."
Sponsored the Black Women's Wellness Study, a research and weight-management program on physical activity, eating patterns and social support for Black women in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania,
Participated with representatives from 20 countries led by the Women's Health Project of South Africa to publish case studies on reproductive health and rights from a global perspective.
2002
Changed our name to the Black Women's Health Imperative, and launched www.BlackWomensHealth.ORG as the most comprehensive, interactive online health resource designed specifically for Black women and their families.
Initiated "Because I am a Queen," a national television campaign and online smoking cessation program to encourage Black women smokers to quit and non-smokers to not start.
2003
Convened a National Colloquium on Black women's health in Washington, D.C., in collaboration with the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust and the U.S. Senate Black Legislative Staff Caucus to generate a national sense of urgency to address the unequal burden of health issues borne by Black women.
Published "Lasting Legacy," an oral history of the National Black Women's Health Project, which was published in commemoration of the organization's 20th anniversary.
Collaborated with the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine to evaluate minimal contact interventions as approaches to facilitate and sustain regular physical activity among Black women.
2004
Co-sponsored The March for Women's Lives with six other leading women's rights and reproductive health and rights organizations. More than 1 million people marched in the streets of Washington, D.C., to sound the alarm that access to abortion and women's reproductive rights were in danger.
Presented Congresswoman Maxine Waters with the Imperative's "Women Who Dare" Award.
2005-2007
Began publishing "Black Papers" on important health issues for Black women.
Re-issued Vital Signs as an e-newsletter for members.
Closed REACH 2010: At the Heart of New Orleans Coalition after seven years of implementing a faith-based initiative to reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors among Black women in New Orleans, La.
2008
Celebrated 25 years of leadership and service for Black women's health and well-being this June 19-21, 2008, at our 25th Anniversary Celebration in Washington, D.C.!

Black Women & Diabetes ? More than a Little Sugar

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:26:16 -0400

For Black women, the risk of developing diabetes is great. It affects 1 in 4 Black women ages 55 years and older and is listed as the fourth leading cause of death for all ages. Diabetes is also more prevalent among Black women than other ethnic groups as noted in the following facts:

Diabetes affects nearly 12% of all Black women ages 20 and older. As we age, our risk of developing diabetes increases.
While Black women ages 20 and older represent 15% of all diabetes cases, we only account for 13% of the total female population in the U.S.
Black women are especially at risk due to high rates of overweight and obesity, lack of physical activity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol
Nearly 50% of Black females born in the year 2000 and beyond will likely develop Type 2 diabetes in their lifetime

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes, often referred to as "sugar," is a serious, common and costly disease. It is a disease in which the body does not make enough insulin or cannot use the insulin it makes effectively. Insulin is needed to help the glucose or sugar that is produced when a person digests food, enter the cells of the body. Diabetes is a lifelong condition and will steadily worsen unless a person makes consistent and healthy lifestyle changes.

Risk Factors for Diabetes

Lifestyle affects many of the "risk factors" of diabetes. Risk factors are conditions or habits that increase the chances of developing a disease or having it worsen. Many of the risk factors that can lead to developing Type 2 diabetes are common among Black women, including being overweight or obese, having high blood pressure and high cholesterol and lack of physical activity. These condition are linked to lifestyle choices such as diet and physical activity and can make living with diabetes more difficult and if lifestyle changes are not made - can make if life-threatening

For diabetes, there are two types of risk factors-those we cannot change and those we can control. The ones we cannot change are family history and age, which for women becomes a risk factor at or near the age of 55.

Most risk factors can be controlled. Often, all it takes are lifestyle changes. Here is a quick review of these risk factors:

Overweight/Obesity. Nearly 80% of Black women are overweight and 51% are obese, increasing the risk not only of diabetes but a host of other conditions, including heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, arthritis and some cancers. Losing weight will help lower risk.
Physical Activity. 55% of Black women are physically inactive-meaning they don't participate in any spare time or recreational physical activity.
High Blood Pressure. Also called hypertension, is an important risk factor for the development and worsening of many complications of diabetes, including diabetic eye disease and kidney disease. Diabetes (sugar) is a serious condition in which the body does not make enough insulin or cannot use the insulin it makes effectively. Insulin is needed to help the glucose (sugar) enter the cells of the body when a person digests food.

Diabetes Does Not Have to Be Our Destiny

There is good news. According to the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP), losing 5 to 7% of body weight can reduce one's risk for developing diabetes. So, you can take action and lower your chance of developing diabetes and its risk factors.

Lasting weight loss is a result of change in lifestyle-adopt a healthy nutrition plan and get regular physical activity. The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) has a tip sheet titled "More Than 50 Ways to Prevent Diabetes" (link to fact sheet) that contains nutrition tips and physical activity examples.
Physical activity is crucial for good health. Try to do at least 30 minutes of a moderate-intensity activity such as brisk walking or another activity that you enjoy such as dancing at least five days a week. If you need to, divide the period into shorter timeframes of at least 10 minutes each.

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Migraines Affect High Number of African Americans, yet This Group is Less Likely to Seek Medical Attention, Get Treatment

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 01:07:05 -0400

African Americans are more likely than other ethnic groups to report higher levels of headache pain, yet less likely to visit a doctor about their symptoms and seek medical treatment, according to a 2006 study. Now, the Black Women's Health Imperative and national sportscaster Pam Oliver, who has struggled with migraines for years, are working with GlaxoSmithKline to educate black women about migraine.

"I'm speaking out about my struggle in hope that black women suffering from migraines will see a doctor about their symptoms," said Oliver, one of only a handful of black female professional sportscasters. "I never realized there were migraine-specific treatments available. After struggling for years to find the right medication, I finally found a treatment that provides the relief I need," she added.

Like many people who suffer from migraines, Oliver did not realize that the frequent, bad headaches she has had since her 20s were migraines. As she began her career in the competitive broadcast profession, she refused to let her "bad headaches" get in the way of doing her job. "I couldn't let anyone think I couldn't do my job, so I tried to work through the pain," said Oliver.

"But the debilitating throbbing I felt on one side of my head and sensitivity to light I experienced became too much," she said. Oliver also noticed that her headaches became more frequent, especially when she was stressed, tired or around loud noise, all difficult situations to avoid when broadcasting from the sidelines of a professional sporting event, she noted.

Unfortunately, Oliver is not alone in her struggle with migraines. Nearly half of the approximately 29.5 million Americans who suffer from migraine are undiagnosed. Women are affected three times more often then men.

Oliver finally spoke with a physician about her symptoms and was prescribed a migraine-specific medication that works for her. "Talking to my doctor about treatment options has made such a difference in my life," said Oliver, who is also a spokesperson for GlaxoSmithKline. "Now, when I get a migraine, I take my migraine-specific medication at the first sign of pain and can reduce the length and intensity of my migraine, allowing me to get on with my day."

Migraine: More than Just a Bad Headache

"While many black people believe that they are less likely to have migraine, this is simply not true," said Dr. Carolyn Britton, associate professor and chief at the Neurological Institute of New York. "It's important for black women to understand that a ?so-called bad headache' could be a migraine and could be serious. Individuals with frequent, bad headaches that interrupt their work or personal life should speak with a healthcare professional about their symptoms. If you're diagnosed, there are treatments available to help you get back to living your life without debilitating pain."

Although headache pain is one of the most recognized symptoms of migraine, other associated symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound. Symptoms of migraine can vary from attack to attack in the same person and different people may exhibit different symptoms. Migraine sufferers may also experience a variety of non-traditional migraine symptoms including sinus pressure and neck pain.

Migraines can be caused by a number of triggers that are both behavioral and environmental. These triggers include certain foods and drinks such as cheese, chocolate, nuts, processed meats, red wine and coffee. Pungent odors, bright lights, stress, inconsistent sleeping patters, change in weather, and hormonal cycles can also trigger migraines.9A While it is nearly impossible to avoid all triggers, you can identify which ones cause your migraines and learn to manage them.

The debilitating pain of migraines can last from four to 72 hours if left untreated. Migraine often leads to missed days of work and a disrupted daily routine. In fact, it has been estimated that migraine-related absenteeism alone costs employers roughly $10 billion annually, according to a study presented at the American Headache Society meeting in 2006.

Knowing How to Get Help

To help those suffering from frequent, bad headaches talk to their doctor about their symptoms, Dr. Britton recommends taking the simple online Headache Quiz and sharing the results with their doctor.

"Only your doctor can diagnose you with migraine, so it's important to discuss your symptoms in detail," said Dr. Britton. "The Headache Quiz is a simple, yet helpful tool to start this conversation. If you are diagnosed with migraine, your doctor can prescribe a migraine-specific medication to take at the first sign of migraine pain. Treatment can decrease the debilitating pain, which can help people resume their normal life."

About Migraines

For the approximately 28 million migraine sufferers in the United States, the debilitating impact of frequent, bad headaches can extend far beyond the actual pain of a migraine attack. If left untreated, migraines can be disruptive, even disabling, making it impossible to participate in daily activities.
Half of all migraine sufferers are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. This only delays pain relief and could lead to unnecessary tests, medications and sometimes even surgery.
Women are disproportionately affected compared to men - about three to one, which translates to nearly 21 million women.
According to the International Headache Society's diagnostic criteria for migraine headaches, the following symptoms must be present and not attributed to another cause.
At least two of these symptoms:
Pain on one side of the head
Moderate to severe pain
Throbbing pain
Worse pain when moving or bending
At least one of these associated symptoms:
Nausea or vomiting
Sensitivity to light and sound
Symptoms of migraine can vary from attack to attack in the same person, and may exhibit different symptoms in different people.
Several studies have shown that migraine headaches are inadequately diagnosed, and consequently often inadequately treated. For example, the American Migraine Study II (AMS II), a population-based survey of more than 20,000 households, showed that less than half (48 percent) of people who met diagnostic criteria for migraine had been told by their doctors that they had migraines.
Additionally, the Landmark Study, published in Headache, evaluated over 1,200 patients who visited a physician about their headaches and found that 9 out of 10 patients had migraine or probable migraine headache and one in four did not get the proper diagnosis. This failure to better diagnose migraines may be due in part to lack of understanding of migraine, and the similarity in symptoms to other, better recognized conditions.

Love Your Heart

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:14:27 -0400

Did you know that HIV significantly raises the risk of heart disease?

With both of these conditions more common in Black women, we partnered with Merck and Company to present Love Your Heart ? a nine-city initiative to raise awareness about the link between HIV and heart disease.

Love Your Heart community forums engage women living with HIV in an open dialogue with health educators and other women living with HIV. The forums provide a ?safe space? for educating, empowering and motivating women to take charge of their heart health and identify ways they can reduce their risk or better manage HIV and heart disease.

Love Your Heart is designed to:

Increase awareness of the link between HIV and heart disease
Increase awareness among women living with HIV of the risks and risk factors for developing heart disease
Encourage participants to discuss risk factors, risk reduction strategies and treatment options with their health care providers

We host Love Your Heart forums with local community organizations in the following cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

G.L.O.W. (Girls Leading Our Way) ? Empowering Black Girls to Grow, Be Healthy, and Succeed

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:16:14 -0400

We believe girls who are comfortable talking and sharing with their mothers or other trusted female family members have higher self esteem, do better in school, and make healthier choices for themselves. That?s why we launched G.L.O.W. (Girls Leading Our Way), an HIV prevention education program based on the HHS Office on Women?s Health?s Straight Talk on Preventing HIV Initiative.

The program is designed to empower Black girls living in Washington D.C., ages 12 ? 17, with the information, skills and family support they need to make better lifestyle choices.

Using a culturally, gender- and age-appropriate approach to HIV prevention, G.L.O.W. helps girls develop a positive self-image, learn how to take care of their health and bodies, build stronger relationships with female family members (mothers, grandmothers, older sisters, aunts and cousins), and equip them with the tools to have open, honest discussions about their sexual health.

Through G.L.O.W., girls participate in leadership development, skills building, and lively group sessions about issues that are important and relevant to their lives. Additionally, all participants have access to a number of key program services and activities, including:

Routine group and individual counseling sessions
Free confidential HIV testing Monthly social support sessions to encourage sharing and open dialogue
Fun physical activities during all group sessions as a way to encourage and establish healthier behaviors and lifestyle patterns
Peer educators and near-peer educators who facilitate health education and life skills sessions for young girls and the women in their lives

Health-Wise Woman Diabetes Education Initiative?

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:12:05 -0400

Diabetes is not our destiny! That?s our message.

The Health-Wise Woman Diabetes Education Initiative? is designed to reach women who are living with or at high risk of developing diabetes. The initiative uses community-level education and social support networks to promote regular physical activity, healthy eating and emotional wellness among Black women ages 40-60.

By taking steps to live healthier, Black women can reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes and related health complications. Through Health-Wise Woman?, we are empowering Black women to take better care of their personal health while building a legacy of health and self-care for future generations to follow.