History of Women’s Health Conference

The Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, will host its seventh annual History of Women’s Health Conference on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 (keynote speaker TBD). We invite interested persons to send a one to two page proposal or abstract of your topic by Friday, November 11, 2011 for consideration. The History of Women’s Health Conference focuses on women’s health issues from the late 18th century to the present. This conference encourages interdisciplinary work. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, obstetric and gynecology issues (fertility, infertility, birth control methods, menopause), adolescence (health, cultural influences, body image, puberty, eating disorders), mental health topics, geriatric concerns, overall women’s health, access to health care, minority health, nursing, midwifery, female healers, and more.

The History of Women’s Health Conference began in 2006 as part of the Pennsylvania Hospital’s celebration of co-founder Benjamin Franklin’s tercentenary. Each year since, scholars from the humanities and health care professionals gather to discuss the past, present, and future state of women’s health. The conference is jointly sponsored by the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department and the Pennsylvania Hospital Historic Collection.

Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation’s first hospital, is a 515-bed acute care facility that provides a full range of diagnostic and therapeutic medical services and functions as a major teaching and clinical research institution. For more information please visit our web site at pennhealth.com/pahosp. For more on our collections or the history of Pennsylvania Hospital, please visit www.uphs.upenn.edu/paharc

Please e-mail your one to two page proposals to:

Stacey C Peeples, Curator-Lead Archivist, Pennsylvania Hospital peepless@pahosp.com

Please call (215-829-5434) or e-mail with any questions or for more information.