Women's health groups: alternatives to the health care system

This article describes an empirical study of 28 alternative women's health organizations. These organizations were formed by women who rejected the existing institutions of health care, especially the nature and quality of reproductive health services. The study examined their philosophy of health care, the range of services provided and the characteristics of women who use them, their internal organization in terms of the distribution of power and authority, and the problems and challenges involved in their existence. Implications and impacts resulting from their continuing existence into the 1980s on the delivery of health care for women are addressed.