Women’s health historically has been underfunded and underresearched; prior to the 1970s, women generally were not even included in clinical trials. Women’s representation in research has grown over the years but often does not match the proportion of women affected by a particular health condition.
More recently, there’s been remarkable progress: The Biden Administration’s White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research has increased funding for conditions that disproportionately or uniquely affect women, such as menopause, endometriosis, autoimmune, and cardiovascular disease. With bipartisan congressional support, the Biden Administration also established the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to promote innovative research and high-impact solutions. Recently the White House granted $110 million to 23 awardees of the first ARPA-H’s Sprint for Women’s Healthopens in new window, including the University of Washington, which is investigating using novel blood tests to assess endometrial pain; the California Institute of Technology, which is researching sweat sensors to track pain levels; and Massachusetts General Hospital, which is developing a sleep tracker to assist in the early detection of neurogenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Read a full list of awardeesopens in new window.
Another innovation poised to advance women’s health care: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted clearance to Movano Healthopens in new window for the pulse oximeter in their EvieMD Ring, a wearable device for women that monitors health metrics like blood oxygen levels and heart rate. The FDA clearance enables Movano to expand their reach and impact, including the ring’s potential use in clinical trials, posttrial management, and remote patient monitoring.
