March 17, 2000

Texas Women’s University, the Greater Houston Women’s Foundation and the Houston Department of Health and Human Services will release the results of a recently completed study, The Status of Women’s Health in Houston, Monday, March 20.  The study will be presented at the Houston Department of Health and Human Services La Nueva Casa Health Center, 1809 North Main at 1PM on the 20th.

The study confirms the relationship between education, income and health.  The report investigates seven health indicators: perinatal data, leading causes of death among women, chronic illness, health behaviors, violence against women, women in the workforce and health care access and utilization.

The report is an expansion of a 1997 study, the Status of Women and Girls in Greater Houston. Both studies were funded by the Greater Houston Women’s Foundation.  The health study was conducted by Katherine Peek, Ph.D. of Texas Women’s University.

The report will provide guidance to local health planners and policy makers in improving women’s  access to and utilization of health services.

Speakers at the press conference include M. desVignes-Kendrick, MD, MPH, Director of the Houston Department of Health and Human Services; Katherine Peek, PhD, Professor and Director for the Institute for Women’s Health at Houston, Texas Women’s University; and Linda K. May, Executive Director, Greater Houston Women’s Foundation.