WPSI Opens Draft Recommendations for Comment
Topics Include Breastfeeding Services, STI Counseling and Preventive Visits
August 31, 2021, 9:25 a.m. News Staff — The Women’s Preventive Services Initiative, a longstanding partner organization with the Academy, is accepting comments on three new draft recommendations through 11:59 p.m. PT on Sept. 17.
All AAFP members are invited to participate, as are members of the general public.
Interested parties are advised to view the initiative’s Guidelines on Public Comment webpage before reviewing the recommendations and submitting comments.
Recommendation Overview
The draft recommendations address
- breastfeeding services and supplies,
- counseling for sexually transmitted infections and
- well-woman preventive visits.
The draft recommendation on breastfeeding services and supplies recommends the provision of comprehensive lactation support — including consultation, counseling and education, in addition to equipment and supplies — during the antenatal, perinatal and postpartum periods to optimize successful breastfeeding initiation and maintenance.
The draft recommendation on counseling for STIs, meanwhile, recommends directed behavioral counseling by a health care professional or other appropriately trained individual for sexually active adolescent and adult women at increased risk for STIs.
Finally, the draft recommendation on well-woman preventive visits recommends that women receive at least one preventive care visit per year beginning in adolescence and continuing throughout their lives to ensure the provision of all recommended preventive services based on age, health status and other factors.
Each recommendation also contains a series of related implementation considerations and research recommendations.
How to Comment
Individuals may leave comments by clicking on the links to each recommendation listed above, or by visiting the Initiative’s draft recommendations page.
Once the public comment period has ended, the initiative’s multidisciplinary steering committee will review comments. The AAFP is a participating organization on that steering committee.
Final draft recommendations will then be submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration for review and inclusion in the administration’s Women’s Preventive Services Guidelines. The recommendations, if adopted, will help ensure that women receive a comprehensive set of preventive services without having to pay a co-payment, co-insurance or deductible.
About WPSI
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists launched WPSI in March 2016. Since then, it has engaged with an array of national health professional organizations, consumer groups and patient advocates with expertise in women’s health to develop, review and update recommendations for women’s preventive health care services.
WPSI steering committees are overseen by an advisory panel composed of representatives from the AAFP, ACOG, the American College of Physicians and the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health, as well as three members of the Institute of Medicine's 2011 Committee on Preventive Services for Women.
The Initiative has published several recommendations on women’s health topics since its inception. Other recently published resources include updated versions (in English and Spanish) of an interactive well-woman chart and an FAQ for Telehealth Services document to assist clinicians during the COVID-19 pandemic.