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November 1, 2004
Nursing professors team up for Great Teachers Lecture

BY Amy Comeau

In 1996, the first women baby boomers turned 50. As that generation ages (the last boomers will turn 50 in 2014) more and more women will approach and experience menopause. With conflicting reports on treatment options, including hormone replacement therapy (HRT), many are asking: What’s a woman to do?

Sarah Freeman and Ora Strickland, professors in the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, will delve into the subject at their Great Teachers Lecture on Thursday, Nov. 4, titled “Who Stole My Hormones?” and addressing the clinical and research management of menopausal women. The event will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Miller-Ward Alumni House.

New data on the proper place for hormone therapy in postmenopausal management has been confusing to women and clinicians alike. According to Freeman, the application of these research findings in clinical practice is important to the continuation of good health care for women.

“By involving women in the decision-making process, they can make informed choices on the management of their symptoms and be active members of their health care team during this important stage of their lives,” Freeman said.

Strickland agreed. “Several studies have presented findings that could impact hormone therapy in menopausal women,” she said. As part of their lecture, the pair will analyze the major studies and their results

Freeman and Strickland also will discuss a variety of new options available for those seeking hormonal therapy that allow a woman and her clinician to develop a safe and effective plan, and they will discuss ways to properly utilize new research to individualize menopausal and post-menopausal care.

A nurse practitioner for more than 20 years, Freeman is director of the women’s health and the adult nurse practitioner programs at the nursing school. She is certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) as a family nurse practitioner. She was elected an AANP fellow and maintains a clinical practice in women’s health and chronic disease management. The recipient of many training grants related to the education of women’s health nurses, Freeman is the principal investigator on the Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Program grant.

Strickland is an internationally known specialist in nursing research, measurement, evaluation, maternal and child health, and parenting. She teaches primarily in the nursing school’s Ph.D. program, focusing on measurement, research design and research applications through doctoral student mentorship. Her research concentrates on measurement, as well as perinatal health, women’s health and minority health issues, with an emphasis on the psychosocial and biophysiological outcomes during life transitions and in chronic diseases.

Strickland’s research has been featured in more than 80 newspapers and on more than 1,200 radio stations internationally. Strickland is one of the Emory site principal investigators for the Women’s Health Initiative, the largest known clinical trial of its kind, which will study 164,000 postmenopausal women nationally over the course of 13 years.

Great Teachers Lectures are free and open to the public. For more information, call the Center for Lifelong Learning at 404-727-6000.

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