536 Women’s Health Psychology
based research “ndings, clinical care, and a more compre-
hensive understanding of women•s health is greater than ever.
In 1940, there were 211,000 women over the age of 85 living
in the United States. Today, in the United States alone, there
are over 2.9 million women over the age of 85„many of
whom have multiple chronic diseases that impact the physi-
cal and psychological health (Guralnik, 2000). Earlier in this
chapter, we discussed the three leading causes of death for
American women: CHD, cancer, and stroke. With respect to
elderly women, nearly 70% of total deaths can be attributed
to these three conditions (Guralnik, 2000). Research focusing
on health behaviors and lifestyle factors relevant to disease
development, course, outcome, and quality of life is neces-
sary to develop and disseminate prevention programs, pro-
mote psychosocial intervention, and facilitate coping efforts.
Attention to such behaviors as cigarette smoking, alcohol
consumption, exercise, diet, and seeking routine Pap smears
and mammograms can in”uence not only illness prevention,
but also outcome.
Prevention and treatment issues are equally important
for psychological health, as well as physical health. Elderly
women commonly experience the death of spouses and
friends, the diagnosis of medical conditions, and the social
stereotypes of growing old in a society that glori“es youth, all
of which contribute to health and well-being. Problems expe-
rienced by the elderly in”uence women of all ages because
72% of care given to the elderly is provided by women, in-
cluding daughters (29%), wives (23%), and other women who
serve as lay or professional caregivers (20%; Siegler, 1998),
placing the female caregiver at risk for both physical and psy-
chological health concerns as reviewed earlier in this chapter.
Because women live longer than men, with a great major-
ity of elderly women living alone, health education must cre-
ate interventions and outreach programs that accommodate
elderly women who serve as their own primary caretakers, as
well as younger caretakers who may have a dif“cult time
leaving the house because of child care or household respon-
sibilities. In addressing this concern, the Centers of Excel-
lence in Women•s Health (CoE) have turned to the World
Wide Web as a way to reach women. The CoE have adopted
online health information sites relevant to women patient
support groups and is developing other plans to expand these
Internet services (Crandall, Zitzelberger, Rosenberg, Winner,
& Holaday, 2001). Because women continue to make the ma-
jority of the family health care decisions, the Internet serves
as a convenient and informative way for women to access
resources and acquire education related to women•s health.
Caution is warranted, of course, as not all Internet sites
relevant to women•s health issues provide comprehensive or
accurate information.
Several U.S.-based programs and organizations are
cornerstones in the “eld of women•s health, including the
American Medical Women•s Association, Division 35 of
the American Psychological Association (i.e., Society for the
Psychology of Women), the Of“ce of Research on Women•s
Health, the Society for Women•s Health Research, and the
Women•s Health Initiative (WHI). In an effort to unite the
multiple aspects and professions included in the “eld of
women•s health, the National Centers of Excellence in
Women•s Health (CoE) were developed in 1996 with the goal
of promoting women•s health by bringing together those
associated with research, clinical care, health education and
outreach, and medical training, and increasing the number of
women in academic medicine (Morahan et al., 2001). There
are currently 15 CoE in academic health centers (Gwinner,
Strauss, Milliken, & Donoghue, 2000), with women serving
as directors for 13 of these centers (Carnes et al., 2001). It is
programs such as these that allow both the physical and psy-
chological care of women to transcend the standards and
practices of the past.
The future of the “eld of women•s health largely depends
on organizations such as these not only to further the ad-
vancement of knowledge in women•s health issues, but also
to offer interdisciplinary support to women across the applied
“elds of medicine, health care, and psychology, and their
corresponding academic departments. The “eld of women•s
health holds many exciting opportunities and potential
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