The National Institutes of Health Women's Health Initiative (WHI) is the largest research study ever funded by NIH ($625 million over 14 years) and is designed to test strategies to prevent cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, and osteoporotic fractures—leading causes of death, disability, and decreased quality of life for older women. Although the WHI has already begun, serious questions remain about its design, cost, and the likelihood that it can answer the questions it asks. This book evaluates whether the effort can be justified scientifically.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
Executive Summary
Introduction
Clinical Trial
Observational Study
Community Prevention Study
Concluding Remarks
References
Appendix A: Clinical Trial Exclusion Criteria
Appendix B: U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations COmmittee
Appendix C: Statement of Task
Appendix D: Documents Received by the Institute of Medicine from the National Institutes of Health
Appendix E: Meeting Participants June, July, and August 1993
Appendix F: Primary and Subsidiary Hypotheses of the Women's Health Initiative Clinical Trial
Appendix G: Women's Health Initiative Committees
Appendix H: NIH-Sponsored Women's Health Studies
Appendix I: NIH Cost and FTE Summary for Vanguard Clinical Centers
Appendix J: NIH Power Calculations
Appendix K: Women's Health Initiative Clinical Coordinating Center and Vanguard Clinical Centers Principal Investigators
Appendix L: Abbreviations and Acronyms
Appendix M: Committee and Staff Biographies