The Center of Excellence in Womens Health (WCOE) at the University of Arizona has moved to the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health to continue its mission to improve the health and wellness of women throughout the lifecycle, with an emphasis on underserved girls and women.
In 2003, the UA was awarded the prestigious designation as a National Center of Excellence in Womens Health by the United States Department of Health & Human Services, Office on Womens Health. Along with the distinction, the UA joined the ranks of 20 other institutions such as, Harvard University and the University of California, San Francisco, in offering national models of comprehensive and innovative health care solutions for women.
Currently the WCOE is operating under a $2.5 million, five-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to prevent cervical cancer through partnership with schools, local government, and community-based organizations.
Some of our activities include training professional and non-professional health care workers on HPV and cervical cancer prevention. For example, bilingual health care workers go out into the community and teach women about the HPV vaccine, screening, early detection, and follow-up for abnormal pap results, said Francisco A. Garcia, MD, MPH, director of the WCOE and professor of Family and Child Health at the Zuckerman College of Public Health.
The health and wellness of women and girls in Southwestern Arizona is dependent upon the WCOE to provide information so they can make informed health decisions. And the Zuckerman College of Public Health is an ideal place to do that, added Dr. Garcia.
In addition, the WCOE is participating in a national study to improve the health and well-being of children. The National Childrens Study (NCS) is a multi-year research study to investigate the effects of environmental factors on the health and development of more than 100,000 children across the U.S. Participants in the study will be followed from pre-birth until age 21.
The other participating organizations working on the NCS study include, the Arizona Respiratory Center at the UA College of Medicine, the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.
