Title 42The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§242s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office of Women’s Health

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 6A— - PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES › Part Part A— - Research and Investigations › § 242s

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates an Office of Women’s Health inside the CDC. The CDC Director must appoint a director for that Office. The director must report to the CDC Director about CDC work on women’s health across ages, biology, culture (including American Indians, Native Hawaiians, and Alaska Natives), and places. The director must set short- and long-term goals, work with other CDC offices on prevention, research, education, services, and policy, pick women’s health projects to do or fund, talk with health experts and community groups, and serve on the HHS Coordinating Committee on Women’s Health. Definition: “women’s health conditions” means diseases or health problems that are unique to women, much more serious or common in women, or where risks or treatments differ for women. Funding: money may be provided as needed for fiscal years 2010 through 2014.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §242s

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)There is established within the Office of the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an office to be known as the Office of Women’s Health (referred to in this section as the “Office”). The Office shall be headed by a director who shall be appointed by the Director of such Centers.
(b)The Director of the Office shall—
(1)report to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the current level of the Centers’ activity regarding women’s health conditions across, where appropriate, age, biological, sociocultural (including among American Indians, Native Hawaiians, and Alaska Natives), and geographical contexts, in all aspects of the Centers’ work, including prevention programs, public and professional education, services, and treatment;
(2)establish short-range and long-range goals and objectives within the Centers for women’s health and, as relevant and appropriate, coordinate with other appropriate offices on activities within the Centers that relate to prevention, research, education and training, service delivery, and policy development, for issues of particular concern to women;
(3)identify projects in women’s health that should be conducted or supported by the Centers;
(4)consult with health professionals, nongovernmental organizations, consumer organizations, women’s health professionals, and other individuals and groups, as appropriate, on the policy of the Centers with regard to women; and
(5)serve as a member of the Department of Health and Human Services Coordinating Committee on Women’s Health (established under section 237a(b)(4) of this title).
(c)As used in this section, the term “women’s health conditions”, with respect to women of all age, ethnic, and racial groups, means diseases, disorders, and conditions—
(1)unique to, significantly more serious for, or significantly more prevalent in women; and
(2)for which the factors of medical risk or type of medical intervention are different for women, or for which there is reasonable evidence that indicates that such factors or types may be different for women.
(d)For the purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2014.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 310A of act July 1, 1944, was renumbered section 226 and transferred to section 235 of this title.

Amendments

2022—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 117–103 substituted “sociocultural (including among American Indians, Native Hawaiians, and Alaska Natives), and geographical contexts,” for “and sociocultural contexts,”.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 242s

Title 42The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73