[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 28 (Thursday, February 11, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6903-6904]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-3308]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary


OPHS Office on Women's Health; Women Living Long, Living Well 
(WLLLW): Draft for Public Comment

AGENCY: DHHS/OS/Office of Public Health and Science, Office on Women's 
Health (OWH).

ACTION: Call for comments on the draft WLLLW framework.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services is soliciting 
comments on Women Living Long, Living Well (WLLLW): Draft for Public 
Comment, which proposes a framework for articulating, developing, and 
implementing women's health research, services, and education 
throughout the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the 
year 2001. We invite you to comment, in writing, using the mail, 
courier service, or the Internet.

DATES: The period for public comment opens at 9:00 a.m. EST on February 
15, 1999, and closes at 5:00 p.m. EST on March 31, 1999.

AVAILABILITY OF DRAFT DOCUMENT: The full text of Women Living Longer, 
Living Well: Draft for Public Comment is available on the National 
Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC) world wide web site, http://
www.4woman.gov/owh/pub/wlllw/index.htm. You also may call NWHIC at 1-
800-994-WOMAN (1-800-994-9662) to request a copy of the draft WLLLW 
document.

ADDRESSES: The mailing address for written comments is: ATTENTION: 
Theresa Brown, WLLLW Document; PHS Coordinating Committee on Women's 
Health; Room 730-F, Hubert H. Humphrey Building; U.S. Department of 
Health and Human Services; 200 Independence Avenue, SW; Washington, DC 
20201. You may also submit comments electronically through the NWHIC 
world wide web site, http://www.4woman.gov/wlllw.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: PHS Coordinating Committee on Women's 
Health; Room 730-F, Hubert H. Humphrey Building; 200 Independence 
Avenue, SW; Washington, DC 20201; (202) 690-7650.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    To further promote and expand the understanding and knowledge of 
women's health throughout the life span, and at the direction of the 
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), 
the U.S. Public Health Service's Coordinating Committee on Women's 
Health proposes a framework for articulating, developing, and 
implementing women's health research, services, and education 
throughout the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The theme 
of this framework is ``Women Living Long, Living Well.'' The acronym of 
the theme--WLLLW--suggests a metaphor: the willow. This family of over 
100 varieties of trees represents the diversity of American women.
    The goals of the WLLLW framework derive from the objectives 
established in Healthy People 2000 and 2010. The Healthy People 2000 
Objectives are the U.S. Public Health Service's health objectives for 
the nation, which are currently being refined in Healthy People 2010. 
The WLLLW framework seeks to support and enhance the efforts

[[Page 6904]]

of DHHS in addressing the major causes of death and disability among 
women in the United States of all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic 
backgrounds. In particular, this framework focuses on the behavioral 
elements of risk while acknowledging the complexity introduced by 
genetic or environmental risks, which individuals often cannot control.
    Accomplishing the goals of WLLLW entails three key strategies:
     Taking what we know and applying it better;
     Generating new knowledge; and
     Partnering with communities across the nation to improve 
the health of women.
To refine and focus the Department's activities for 2001 and beyond, 
and to ensure an effective response, consultation with various key 
constituencies and stakeholders is critical. The WLLLW framework is 
intended to serve as the basis for discussion and input from the 
community. Feed-back on the following objectives will assist us in this 
process to identify:
    1. The three most significant means to reach and maintain the goal 
of a long, healthy life for a woman and the barriers to reaching this 
goal.
    2. The critical prevention and intervention point in each stage of 
life that promotes good health in subsequent stages.
    3. The single most important activity the Department needs to 
undertake, in partnership with communities, to address these issues.
    4. A primary gap in women's health activities within the 
Department, and the two or three specific strategies to address this 
gap.
    5. Innovative activities in which the Department should be 
involved.
    6. In what ways women's health should be organized and incorporated 
into the structure of the Department.

Purpose of Public Comment

    The WLLLW framework seeks to support and enhance the efforts of 
DHHS in addressing the major causes of death and disability among women 
in the United States of all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic 
backgrounds. To refine and focus the Department's activities for 2001 
and beyond, and to ensure an effective response, consultation with 
various key constituencies and stakeholders is critical. The WLLLW 
framework is intended to serve as the basis for discussion and input 
from the community.
    We invite your general comments and feedback, and we are especially 
interested in your comments on the six specific subject areas (above). 
You may: (1) comment where indicated on the web site; or (2) mail us 
you comments, in the format of your choice.

    Dated: February 3, 1999.
Wanda K. Jones,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health (Women's Health).
[FR Doc. 99-3308 Filed 2-10-99; 8:45 am]
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