Quilts encourage patterns of good health for women

During pioneer days, rural women would gather together and quilt to help overcome isolation and loneliness. Many of the quilts they carefully crafted became valued family heirlooms, and stories about their patterns and makers passed from generation to generation.

This week, investigators from 40 Women's Health Initiative (WHI) centers nationwide gathered in Washington, D.C., for a gala celebration. At the event were poster-sized photographs of a quilt Sacramento-area women designed in honor of their participation in the WHI. The artists contributed 80 quilt “blocks” — sections of quilts — conceived to visually remind women now and in the future to be vigilant about safeguarding their health. The real quilt now hangs in the UC Davis Health Sciences Ticon 1 building.

The quilt makers were among 4,000 local women aged 50 to 79 who participated in the UC Davis arm of the WHI, a 15-year project funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study focuses on strategies for preventing heart disease, breast and colorectal cancer, and osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. The Sacramento WHI clinic is one of 40 across the country that began conducting clinical assessments in 1993 and is one of only three that participated in a quilt project.

After learning about a successful quilt project at the Chicago clinic, UC Davis WHI project manager Denise Macias and her staff sent letters to Sacramento-area study participants explaining how important their contributions have been to the success of WHI and asking if they'd like to make a quilt.

“We invited each participant to submit a 12-by-12 inch quilt block depicting her interpretation of the theme 'You are a Star' and provide a personal statement about the inspiration for the block,” said Macias. “We had a wide range of skill levels — some drew pictures, others did embroidery or tatting. The women also had a variety of reasons for participating. One said she made her block to honor her sister who died of breast cancer.”

Collectively, the statements communicate a message of generosity, diversity and commitment to leaving a legacy of knowledge about women's health for future generations.

After receiving the quilt squares, Macias and her staff contacted Sacramento's Quilters' Corner, a quilting supplies shop that donated fabric for the backing and binding, along with sewing machines and work space to assemble the quilts. Sacramento quilter Elizabeth Lampman machine-quilted a star pattern into the quilts in keeping with the theme.

The second phase of the WHI study runs through 2010. Macias said her clinic encourages all participants to continue with the study, since the outcomes benefit all women. “Participants will receive question- naires for five years to follow changes in their health,” said Macias. “This is particularly important for women who were enrolled in the hormone replacement therapy arm of the study, because we don't know the long-term effects of the therapy.”