CLUW Highlights National Women’s Health Week

by James Parks, May 10, 2009

Mothers always look out for their family’s health. During National Women’s Health Week May 10-16, you can encourage Mom to make sure she is healthy, too.

National Health Week is a weeklong health observance coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health. The nationwide “It’s Your Time” initiative encourages women to take simple steps for longer, healthier lives.

As part of its campaign to raise awareness about how to prevent cervical cancer, the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) is working with other community and women’s groups during National Women’s Health Week to educate women about steps they can take to improve their physical and mental health and lower their risks of certain diseases, particularly cervical cancer.

Carolyn Jacobson, director of CLUW’s Cervical Cancer Prevention Works program, points out that this year alone, 11,070 women will be diagnosed in the United States with cervical cancer and 3,870 will die of the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. She emphasizes that cervical cancer is preventable—with regular Pap tests, HPV vaccine and Pap with HPV for women ages 30 and older.

Unions can play a vital role in getting the word out to women about the importance of women being tested for the HPV virus, which causes this deadly disease, Jacobson says:

We have a great opportunity to use this week to get this information out. Unions have the communications channels to reach our members, and they trust what their unions tell them.

Union members have health insurance that covers many preventive services. Being tested and preventing disease saves the health care system money and ultimately can mean holding down costs. More importantly, making women aware of the need for preventive care can lead to greater health benefits for the entire family since women are the gatekeepers to their family’s health and the largest consumers of the health care system.

Today on Mother’s Day, CLUW members are kicking off the week by partnering with the Pearl of Wisdom Campaign to encourage women to take action to prevent cervical cancer. Recent surveys in two pre-Mother’s Day target cities, St. Louis and Memphis, show that women are missing significant opportunities to protect themselves from cervical cancer. 

Over the past month, CLUW members in St. Louis and Memphis have spread the word to local unions about the need to promote women’s health through articles in union newspapers, appearances before central labor councils and by convening meetings of women’s health and community groups to educate them on preventive care.

CLUW also will take part in the National Women’s Health Week event, “A Few Minutes for You!” in the main auditorium at the National Education Association, 1201-16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C., on May 11. The event will feature exhibits, health screenings and more to promote good health and provide advice in making healthy lifestyle choices.

The CLUW exhibit will focus on cervical cancer prevention, women’s health and how unions can have an impact on women’s health by bargaining contracts with strong health care provisions.’

In January, CLUW partnered with the Metropolitan Washington Council’s Community Services Agency (CSA) at one of the largest health and fitness expos in the nation to inform women about the advances in cervical cancer screening technology and the importance of screening. For more on CLUW’s Cervical Cancer Prevention Works campaign, click here.

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