The National Institutes of Health (NIH) established the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) in 1991 to address the most common causes of death, disability, and impaired quality of life in postmenopausal women. The WHI addresses cardiovascular disease, cancer, and osteoporosis. The three major components of the WHI were a randomized controlled clinical trial of promising but unproven approaches to prevention, an observational study to identify predictors of disease, and a study of community approaches to developing healthful behaviors. The WHI website provides information regarding findings.