Question

To Prepare:

Review the Women’s Health Initiative article in this week’s Learning Resources. Select osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women.

Locate and select a research article that addresses current best practices for assessing and managing the disorder you selected. Be sure that the research article you select is from a reputable source.

Consider the similarities and differences between the best practices presented in the WHI study and the article you selected. Think about the potential impact of differences in best practices on women’s health.

Consider whether the best practices in the article you selected should be used in clinical practice.

To Complete:

Write a 2- to 3-page paper that addresses the following:

Describe the disorder you selected from the Women’s Health Initiative study.

Explain the current best practices for assessing and managing this disorder as suggested in the research article you selected.

Compare the best practices presented in the WHI study to the current best practices presented in the article. Explain how the differences in best practices might impact women’s health.

Explain whether you think the current best practices in the article you selected should be used in clinical practice. Support your position with evidence-based research.

Answer 1

The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) is a long-term national health study focused on strategies for preventing heart disease, breast and colorectal cancer, and osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women. Launched in 1993, the WHI enrolled 161,808 women aged 50-79 into one or more randomized Clinical Trials (CT), testing the health effects of hormone therapy (HT),  dietary modification (DM), and/or calcium and Vitamin D supplementation (CaD) or to an Observational Study (OS). At the end of the initial study period in 2005, WHI Extension Studies (2005-2010, 2010-2020) continued follow-up of all women who consented.  

This ground-breaking study changed the way health care providers prevent and treat some of the major diseases impacting postmenopausal women. Results from the WHI Hormone Trials have been estimated to have already saved $35.2 billion in direct medical costs in the US alone. To date, WHI has published  over 1,400 articles and approved and funded 289 ancillary studies.

Interested scientists are encouraged to submit paper and ancillary study proposals for using WHI data. To assist in this, this website includes an overview of WHI, study documentation, and information on how to submit a paper or ancillary study proposal.

The Women's Health Initiative (WHI), sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), is a long-term national health study that focuses on strategies for preventing heart disease, breast and colorectal cancer, and osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. These chronic diseases are the major causes of death, disability, and frailty in older women of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds.

The original WHI study had three parts—a clinical trial, an observational study, and a community prevention study—and completed data collection in 2005. The WHI continues to contribute to the science of women’s health through extension and ancillary studies.

WHI extension studies collect long-term data from WHI participants to complement the original WHI study. The current extension study is collecting annual health information from consenting WHI participants through 2020, focusing on cardiovascular events and aging.

WHI ancillary studies are separate research projects that enroll WHI participants. Examples include:

• The Women’s Health Initiative Strong and Healthy Study (WHISH) external link , which examines the health benefits of a physical activity program in older women;
• The Objective Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health Study (OPACH) external link , which used wearable devices to measure the effect of physical activity on cardiovascular health in older women; and
• The Women's Health Initiative Sleep Hypoxia Effects on Resilience (WHISPER), which examines whether sleep-disordered breathing and the resulting low levels of oxygen in the blood are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attack, stroke, heart failure, cancer, and cognitive decline.
• For over 20 years, the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study has conducted research trials to examine factors that impact risks and development of conditions that impact women such as heart disease, breast and colorectal cancer, and osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women. Health care providers use results from these trials to develop guidelines for delivering care to patients. In your role in clinical settings, you must be familiar with these guidelines, and you must be aware that through clinical practice, guidelines frequently evolve and change. Often, what is considered a best practice today might not be a best practice in the future. For this Assignment, you compare guidelines outlined in the WHI study to current best practices for assessing and managing conditions.