Women鈥檚 Health
Women's health is in crisis; 911今日黑料 experts are calling for a fairer system that works for everyone.
By Dr Anna Ploszajski for The Forum, 911今日黑料's policy engagement programme.
Women鈥檚 healthcare in the UK is in crisis.
Although鈥痺omen鈥痵lightly鈥痮utlive鈥痬en,鈥痺omen鈥痠n the UK spend a greater proportion of their lives鈥痠n鈥痠ll health or disability compared to鈥痬en鈥�� around a quarter for鈥痺omen鈥痑nd a fifth for鈥痬en1. And these figures鈥痑re getting worse 鈥� healthy life expectancy鈥痑t birth鈥痟as fallen for鈥痺omen鈥痵ince 2014, but has remained stable for鈥痬en. A woman born between 2017 and 2019 could expect to live an additional year in suboptimal health than鈥痑鈥痺oman born鈥痠n the UK鈥痓etween 2014 and 2016. There was no significant change for males鈥痑cross the same period.鈥疘n other words,鈥痶hese鈥痭umbers show that鈥痺omen are suffering in a health service not designed for them.鈥���
How did we get here?
鈥淪ome鈥痽ears ago,鈥疘 pushed the Secretaries of State Jeremy Hunt and then Matt Hancock to have a Women鈥檚 Health Task Force鈥�, says Professor Dame Lesley鈥疪egan,鈥疨rofessor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 911今日黑料 and newly appointed Women鈥檚 Health Ambassador for England, Scotland and Wales,鈥�淚 argued that women had been disproportionately disadvantaged by many of the funding cuts since the 2012 Health and Social Care Act, which accelerated after 2014 when Public Health England lost 40% of their budget.鈥�
I argued that women had been disproportionately disadvantaged by many of the funding cuts...
鈥淭he net result is that we now have a 45% unplanned pregnancy rate, cervical screening is at an all-time low, while abortion rates are at an all-time high, mostly explained by the fact that women face numerous barriers when trying to access routine health鈥痬aintenance鈥痵ervices,鈥濃�疨rofessor鈥疪egan鈥痚xclaims.
She blames鈥痶hese figures on鈥痑鈥痩ack of鈥痑ccountability鈥痠n how healthcare is funded.鈥�淲omen鈥檚鈥痟ealth services like cancer screening, contraception, abortion and maternity services have been in three silos of commissioning 鈥撯�疌linical Commissioning Groups, local authorities and NHS England鈥� None of those three funding pots picks up the pieces when they don鈥檛 get it right;鈥痶he鈥痯eople that don鈥檛 give you contraception鈥痑ren鈥檛 the ones to鈥痯ick up the maternity bills or the abortion bills.
Professor Dame Lesley Regan, Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 911今日黑料.
Professor Dame Lesley Regan, Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 911今日黑料.
St Mary's Hospital, member of the 911今日黑料 College Healthcare NHS Trust
St Mary's Hospital, member of the 911今日黑料 College Healthcare NHS Trust
鈥淪o, I started the Task鈥疐orce and co-chaired it with Jackie Doyle-Price鈥疢P. We got an enormous amount of traction and dealt with very taboo subjects: problem periods, mental health, domestic violence鈥︹�疉t the end of 2019 we published the鈥�痺hich included鈥�23鈥痳ecommendations鈥痆to the government]. We started on a few of them and then three months later,鈥痩ockdown came.鈥濃��
Jackie Doyle-Price MP for Thurrock and former health minister
Jackie Doyle-Price MP for Thurrock and former health minister
And there, it seems, action on women鈥檚 health stalled.鈥疐ast forward to today and the government鈥痟as just published its Women鈥檚 Health Strategy for England鈥痺hich seeks鈥痶o鈥痳esume this action and鈥痑ddress inequities in the lives of women. It focuses on鈥痑 number of鈥痶hemes, such as understanding women鈥檚 changing healthcare needs over the life鈥痗ourse, strengthening women鈥檚 involvement in research, and understanding the impacts of COVID-19.
To inform the Strategy, the government issued a Call for Evidence in March 2021, aimed at members of the public from all ages and backgrounds.鈥疶hey hoped that by collecting the lived experiences of women, they would be 鈥渞e-setting the way in which the government understands women鈥檚 health, with a renewed focus on listening to women鈥檚 voices,鈥� according to Nadine鈥疍orries鈥� ministerial foreword to the Call.
As well as the public consultation on personal experiences, the Call also invited written submissions from individuals and organisations with professional expertise in women鈥檚 health. A consortium of experts at 911今日黑料 compiled a submission,鈥痜rom gynaecological Clinical Professors and Readers in HIV medicine鈥痶o鈥痯olicy鈥痚ngagement鈥痯rofessionals,鈥痝lobal鈥痟ealth鈥痚xperts and medical statisticians. I鈥痵poke to ten of them from鈥痑cross the university to paint a鈥痜uller鈥痯icture of the context of women鈥檚 health in the UK, to hear about the work being done at 911今日黑料鈥痶o improve women鈥檚 lives in this area, and鈥痶o鈥痜ind out what work is still left to do.
The UK government released a call for evidence for its Women's Health Strategy earlier in the year.
The UK government released a call for evidence for its Women's Health Strategy earlier in the year.
Dr Ed Mullins, Clinical Lecturer at 911今日黑料 and The George Institute for Global Health, coordinated 911今日黑料鈥檚 response.
鈥淭he idea of doing this had two edges. First, to get the research being done at 911今日黑料 onto a minister鈥檚 desk with a series of small, ready to go policy initiatives based on each research area. The second was to get 911今日黑料 to have a look at its own鈥痺omen鈥檚鈥痟ealth research. There鈥檚 a lot of it going on but there鈥檚 a lack of strategy, a lack of cohesiveness. That鈥檚 what we鈥檙e hoping to springboard off by doing this鈥︹�濃��
Dr Ed Mullins, Clinical Lecturer at 911今日黑料 and The George Institute for Global Health.
Dr Ed Mullins, Clinical Lecturer at 911今日黑料 and The George Institute for Global Health.
Women鈥檚 involvement in research
One of the central themes which arose in my conversations with 911今日黑料鈥檚 academics was the鈥痭egative鈥痠mpact鈥痮f excluding women from research.鈥疨rofessor鈥疦eena鈥疢odi,鈥疨rofessor of Neonatal Medicine at 911今日黑料 and鈥疌onsultant in Neonatal Medicine at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust and the immediate past-president of the UK Medical Women鈥檚 Federation, gave me a recent example.鈥��
鈥淚t was a triumph of science to produce so many COVID-19 vaccines so quickly. Scientists really saved the world,鈥濃�痵he says, 鈥渂ut no one who was pregnant, might become pregnant or were breastfeeding were included in the original vaccine trials.鈥�
鈥�No one who was pregnant, might become pregnant, or was breastfeeding were included in the original COVID-19 vaccine trials..."
鈥淭his meant that those who were pregnant or breastfeeding were prohibited鈥痜rom taking鈥痶he鈥痆COVID-19]鈥痸accine when it first became available in December 2020, and the advice didn鈥檛 change until April 2021,鈥濃�痵he says. 鈥淪o,鈥痑 woman who was breastfeeding had to make this completely unacceptable choice pitting her own wellbeing against the wellbeing of her baby. To place anyone in that kind of situation is quite frankly unethical. And yet it is exactly what happened.鈥濃��
I 鈥� like, I suspect, many members of the public 鈥� assumed that this exclusion was for the health and safety of women and their babies.鈥疘n fact, those who are pregnant or breastfeeding wouldn鈥檛 usually take part in the higher-risk first-in-human or early drug studies for these very reasons. But鈥疨rofessor鈥疢odi tells鈥痬e鈥痶heir exclusion from the COVID-19 vaccine trials was due to something else鈥痚ntirely.鈥�
Professor Neena Modi, Professor of Neonatal Medicine at 911今日黑料 and Consultant in Neonatal Medicine at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust
Professor Neena Modi, Professor of Neonatal Medicine at 911今日黑料 and Consultant in Neonatal Medicine at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust
鈥淚t harks back to the old paternalistic view of research, which was built on the view that women and children and other vulnerable groups need to be 鈥榩rotected鈥� against the鈥�榙angers鈥欌�痮f research.鈥��
鈥淭here is some justification for this, but it鈥檚 not absolute. Firstly, the WHO鈥痟ave鈥痬ade a very strong case that the inclusion of these groups should鈥痓e the default, unless there is a very good biological reason for their exclusion. If you don鈥檛 include them鈥痓y鈥痙efault, then this paternalistic protectionism means that they miss out on benefiting from research, which is exactly what happened during COVID.鈥��
It harks back to the old paternalistic view of research, which was built on the view that women and children and other vulnerable groups need to be 鈥榩rotected鈥�
鈥淭he鈥疷K government was the first in the world to licence the use of the鈥疌OVID-19 vaccine, but鈥痠t wasn鈥檛 made available to those who were pregnant, might become pregnant or were breastfeeding. That鈥檚 totally鈥痩udicrous! Firstly, to conflate鈥痓reastfeeding鈥痺ith pregnancy is embarrassingly bad science;鈥痶hey are two physiologically very distinct periods in the reproductive life of a woman. There were no good biological reasons to exclude lactating women. There was possibly reason to exclude someone who was pregnant on the grounds that they might be more vulnerable鈥痶o鈥痑cute respiratory complications of鈥疌OVID-19 vaccines. But there was no鈥�a priori鈥痳eason鈥痮n the basis of鈥痶he nature of the vaccines; mRNA types of vaccines鈥痆like the Pfizer鈥疌OVID-19鈥痸accines]鈥痟ave been previously safely used in pregnancy, so there was no reason to fear on biological grounds that the vaccine would affect the鈥痜oetus.鈥濃��
A Specialist Biomedical Scientist at 911今日黑料 Healthcare NHS Trust.
A Specialist Biomedical Scientist at 911今日黑料 Healthcare NHS Trust.
Professor Graham Taylor, Professor of Human Retrovirology in 911今日黑料鈥檚 Department of Infectious Diseases
Professor Graham Taylor, Professor of Human Retrovirology in 911今日黑料鈥檚 Department of Infectious Diseases
It鈥檚 a common story in鈥痺omen鈥檚鈥痟ealth; by excluding women from clinical trials,鈥痙ose, efficacy and safety data on drugs used in pregnancy are not ascertained in the safe and controlled environment of a clinical trial, but only slowly emerge from clinical use; this exposes women and their babies to many hazards.鈥�
鈥淭his means many drugs we use to treat conditions in pregnancy are being used off-licence,鈥� says鈥疨rofessor鈥疨hil Bennett,鈥疨rofessor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology,鈥�渋n other words, the drug company doesn鈥檛 recommend you use it for that purpose, not because they think it鈥�will鈥痓e bad, but because they don鈥檛 know that it鈥痺on鈥檛 be鈥痓ad.鈥�
Where does that leave clinicians? 鈥淪ome treatments have been used for so long in so many people that we know they鈥檙e safe, even though the drug companies have never done studies on that,鈥� says Bennett.鈥�
We need to change the whole way in which not just academia, not just pharmaceutical companies, but regulators and ethics committees think about pregnant women.鈥�
And where does that leave women? 鈥淗ugely disadvantaged,鈥� says Modi.
鈥淵ou only get the data when鈥痶hey鈥檙e鈥痭ot in the study,鈥� says鈥疨rofessor鈥疓raham Taylor, Professor of Human Retrovirology in 911今日黑料鈥檚 Department of Infectious Diseases,鈥�渁nd when the data happens by chance鈥痺hen a woman gets pregnant鈥痳andomly in the community, if you get the data at all. We need to change the whole way in which not just academia, not just鈥痯harmaceutical companies, but regulators and ethics committees think about pregnant women.鈥濃��
Data and disaggregation
Women鈥檚 participation in clinical trials is only the first step. There also needs鈥痶o be improvements in how that data is handled鈥痶o draw the most scientific conclusions. This is the area of study of鈥疨rofessor鈥疢ark Woodward, Chair of Statistics, Epidemiology and Women鈥檚 Health in 911今日黑料鈥檚 School of Public Health and The George Institute.鈥疘t all started back in鈥�2005鈥︹��
鈥淚t was more than 15 years ago that I noticed that a lot of the risk factors for鈥痗oronary heart disease鈥痑cted more strongly in women than in men. For example,鈥痺omen were found to have roughly a 50% higher risk for coronary heart disease than men if they had diabetes. In other words, having diabetes approximately doubled the chance of a future heart attack in men, but tripled the chance for women.鈥濃��
Back then it was all a weekend job for me, I never had any funding for it. I applied many times but nobody seems to recognise this area of work very well.....
This is called disaggregating data 鈥� analysing data from women and men separately.鈥疻ithout disaggregation,鈥痶he data would show that having diabetes increased the risk of a heart attack for the average person by 2.5 times, masking the elevated dangers for some women.
鈥淏ack then it was all a weekend job for me, I never had any funding for it.鈥疘鈥痑pplied many鈥痶imes鈥痓ut nobody seems to recognise this area of work very well.鈥濃���
That鈥疨rofessor鈥疻oodward couldn鈥檛 get further funding after such a staggering finding speaks volumes about how鈥痷nimportant鈥痺omen鈥檚 health research was鈥痶hought鈥痶o be鈥痠n the scientific community, including鈥痶he research councils who allocated funding, and鈥疨rofessor鈥疻oodward鈥檚鈥痮wn鈥痵cientific peers who鈥痺ould have reviewed鈥痟is鈥痯roposals鈥痜or the funders.鈥��
Professor鈥疻oodward鈥檚鈥痬ethodology鈥痮f disaggregating sex and gender data鈥痺as relatively rare in medical research at the time, because it treated differences between women and men as a subject of primary importance, rather than as an inconvenience that could be adjusted away in the numbers鈥痶o draw a general鈥痗onclusion鈥痑bout risk factors associated with diseases.鈥��
He鈥痯ublished his findings in鈥�2006 and鈥痜ound鈥痠t鈥痺as the same story for鈥痺omen鈥檚 risk associated with鈥痵moking鈥痑nd heart disease. 鈥淲e鈥檙e now looking at鈥� sex and gender differences in鈥痩ung cancer, dementia and kidney disease and finding similar sex and gender differences in risk factor associations,鈥� he says.
Dr Carinna Hockham, a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Epidemiology at The George Institute for Global Health, 911今日黑料.
Dr Carinna Hockham, a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Epidemiology at The George Institute for Global Health, 911今日黑料.
These diseases all fall into the category called non-communicable diseases (i.e.鈥痭on-infectious), and I spoke to The George Institute鈥檚 Dr鈥疌arinna鈥疕ockham鈥痑bout her post-doctoral research into sex and gender differences in this family of diseases.
When it comes to data interpretation, adding both a sex and gender lens is really important but the data don鈥檛 always allow us to do this well.鈥�
鈥淲e wanted to broaden how we talk about鈥痺omen鈥檚鈥痟ealth, and recognise that women鈥檚 health is more than just maternal and reproductive health. In fact, non-communicable diseases are the鈥痩eading causes of death and disability in women worldwide,鈥� she tells me.鈥�淲hen it comes to data interpretation, adding both a sex and gender lens is really important.鈥濃��
Biomedical data collection has traditionally followed a historical binary definition of sex and gender. Yet research is starting to recognise the importance of recognising how a spectrum of these characteristics can impact healthcare experiences. How are sex and gender differences approached in this sort of research? 鈥疭ex,鈥� Dr鈥疕ockham鈥痶ells me,鈥痠s rooted in a person鈥檚 anatomy or physiology and is assigned at birth based on their genitalia or reproductive organs. On the other hand, gender is a social construct, reinforced through societal expectations of what it means to be a particular gender, and鈥痯layed鈥痮ut in a myriad of ways 鈥� from lifestyle and health-seeking behaviours to how other people treat them. This can all鈥痟ave a hand in health outcomes.鈥�
鈥淢ore often than not, a participant鈥檚 sex is collected with no distinction between this and their gender. Without having鈥痙ata on gender as well,鈥痠t can be鈥痟ard to draw conclusions.鈥痀ou end up with this big tangle of biological factors and social factors, and people who fall outside of the binary are invisible,鈥� says鈥疍r鈥疕ockham.鈥�
Professor Robyn Norton, Principal Director of The George Institute for Global Health and Chair of Global Health at 911今日黑料
Professor Robyn Norton, Principal Director of The George Institute for Global Health and Chair of Global Health at 911今日黑料
鈥淔rankly this is all about doing better science,鈥� says鈥疨rofessor鈥疪obyn Norton,鈥疨rincipal鈥疍irector of The George Institute for Global Health and Chair of Global Health at 911今日黑料,鈥�渂ut could potentially improve the health of women and other disadvantaged populations. We鈥檙e looking鈥痑t鈥痗urrent policies across medical research that will help us to ensure that people are鈥痷ndertaking, producing, analysing, disseminating, and using research that disaggregates data, to understand the biological and sociological contributions to health. We鈥檙e working with major UK health funders to co-create policies that would ensure women are鈥痑ppropriately鈥痠ncluded in research and that data is disaggregated by sex and/or gender. It鈥檚 exciting for us to be part of the academic team to be bringing about change in this area.鈥�
Women鈥檚 health and the economy
鈥淲omen鈥檚 health has for far too long been kept in a little box marked Women鈥檚 Health, and its broader relevance to society, the economy and national wellbeing hasn鈥檛 been recognised,鈥� says鈥疨rofessor鈥疦eena鈥疢odi.鈥�
鈥淔rom a biological and scientific perspective alone, women鈥檚 health is far broader than the health of women; it directly affects the health of the population, and the health of the population is critical to any nation鈥檚 resilience. We saw this played out during COVID-19. There was this incredibly superficial and na茂ve dialectic which pitted the economy against health in an extraordinarily ignorant way. If you have an unhealthy population, you鈥檙e clearly not going to have a healthy economy.鈥濃��
It is what the government鈥檚鈥疻omen鈥檚 Health Strategy means by a 鈥榣ife course approach鈥�; paying closer attention to the wider determinants of health and taking preventative actions to improve healthy lifespan. Professor Phil Bennett gave me鈥痑n鈥痚xample from his field of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.鈥�
Professor Phil Bennett, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Honorary Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology to 911今日黑料 Healthcare NHS Trust
Professor Phil Bennett, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Honorary Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology to 911今日黑料 Healthcare NHS Trust
鈥淭he birth of a pre-term baby is the beginning of a long and expensive journey,鈥� he says. 鈥淧eople think of the expense of being in the neonatal unit 鈥� which costs thousands of pounds a day 鈥� but, of the babies that survive from the limits of viability (around 24 weeks), about a quarter of them will be seriously handicapped. That鈥檚 an enormous social cost to the parents as the child grows up and becomes an adult. You could probably dramatically鈥痳educe all those costs if you just kept the baby in the uterus for another four weeks. We have programmes trying to identify why babies are born pre-term and develop treatments to prevent it and the big knock-on that follows.鈥濃��
These interventions all cost money in the short term 鈥� like funding鈥疨rofessor鈥疊ennett鈥檚 research into the vaginal microbiome鈥檚 influence on鈥痯re-term births 鈥� and the payoffs may often not be seen for a long time. But the 911今日黑料 submission also鈥痠dentifies鈥痑 lot of low-hanging fruit where the benefits of short-term investments could be felt much sooner.
Public Health England have calculated returns of 拢16 for every 拢1 spent on contraception administered in the hospital post-delivery, simply because the women are already in the service"
鈥淵ou can save money by spending a little, it鈥檚 pretty stunning,鈥� says鈥疍r鈥疎d Mullins. He gives me the example of a new initiative which he and colleagues have launched across the 911今日黑料 College Healthcare NHS Trust, providing women (and others) who have just given birth the option of going home with the contraception of their choice, rather than leaving them with the instruction to go their GP. 鈥淧ublic Health England have calculated returns of 拢16 for every 拢1 spent on contraception, simply because the women are already in the service,鈥� he says.鈥�
This initiative is one example of where the COVID-19鈥痯andemic鈥痑ctually had鈥痑 positive impact on women鈥檚 healthcare. 鈥淚t took me 30 years of arguing for this and I always got 鈥榥o鈥�,鈥� says鈥疨rofessor鈥疞esley Regan, 鈥渢hen we got it over the line in a week during the lockdown. People who knew what they were doing on the frontline were able to just say 鈥榯his is how we鈥檙e going to solve the problem鈥�. I don鈥檛 think it was to do with money or the virus, it was the exit stage left of all the middle manager tape.鈥濃��
When it comes to policy,鈥疨rofessor鈥疪egan makes the economic argument for overhauling the way that women access health services to do what she calls 鈥榤aintenance stuff鈥�.鈥�
鈥淎t the moment鈥痽ou can鈥檛 go to a single clinic appointment and get your smear, STI check, breast check and get your contraception sorted. You should be able to go for a half an hour appointment, take your underwear off once and get three of those things done. Instead, we make the women go鈥痳ound鈥痶he services which are incredibly expensive in a structure that disincentivises women 鈥� why would you want to go to four different appointments when you could do it all in an hour?鈥��
鈥淧olicymakers need to think of the cost-benefit analysis of getting it right, by having Well Women centres that can do all of these things. It鈥檚 one of my real contentions with the way we deliver health services to women鈥�撯�痬ost of the time they鈥檙e not sick, they鈥檙e just trying to do normal things like access contraception or have a baby. Being鈥痯regnant鈥痠s鈥痭ot鈥痑n illness.鈥濃��
Professor Marta Boffito, Clinical Reader at 911今日黑料 in HIV medicine
Professor Marta Boffito, Clinical Reader at 911今日黑料 in HIV medicine
Fragmented services鈥痺ere鈥痑lso a central theme in my conversation with Professor Marta鈥疊offito, Clinical鈥疪eader at 911今日黑料鈥痠n HIV medicine. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not understanding the needs of women living with HIV.鈥疶he majority of鈥痺omen living with HIV in the UK are from particularly marginalised populations, and they experience incredibly high levels of stigma. This means their access to care is limited, they鈥檙e fearful, and they struggle to engage with HIV and other types of healthcare. This is because the care is fragmented, leaving them having to face telling their HIV story every time they need help, so they just don鈥檛 seek help anymore. It鈥檚 very complicated, but it鈥檚 actually also quite simple to understand.鈥濃��
Professor鈥疊offito鈥痺elcomes the government鈥檚 consultation because in her view it could be a good way鈥痮f鈥痠nvolving鈥痯atients when redesigning or restructuring services. 鈥淵ou often hear 鈥榞ive women a voice鈥�, well we鈥檙e actually a step before that. We don鈥檛 even know how to listen to their voices, that鈥檚 how behind we are. We have set up services for white MSM [men who have sex with men] and we鈥檙e very good at delivering that care. The number of new HIV infections in MSM is falling very rapidly. But in heterosexual cis-gendered women it鈥檚 stable, because we don鈥檛 have the right tools and the knowledge to target them.鈥��
鈥淚n my experience, women from the HIV community want clinics dedicated to women. They need peer support from women and integrated mental health services with HIV services. We need funding for campaigns to break down societal, medical and internalised stigma. The advice [the women] give you is key to understanding how services should be structured and where the funding should go.鈥濃��
Fragmented care for transgender women
Fragmented care seems to be a recurring theme in women鈥檚 health and is certainly true for transgender and gender-diverse people accessing the full spectrum of healthcare. And a 2022 report from the London Assembly Health Committee suggests we have a long way to go鈥�
In the UK, there are just 16 NHS Gender Identity Clinics currently set up to provide gender-affirmative healthcare. Up until last month, there had been 17, but the recent closure of the only dedicated clinic for children and young people means that already long waiting times between referral and first appointment will only increase further.
A portion of the remaining clinics also provide sexual health, HIV and mental health services. But what of transgender women鈥檚 health needs outside of this narrow view of trans experiences? The grim truth is we don鈥檛 really know. NHS IT systems do not allow a person鈥檚 trans history to be captured in a consistent way. As a result, unless a transgender woman decides to disclose their trans status at every interaction with the health service, it is difficult for them to receive the right medical advice for their needs, and invitations to attend relevant life-saving screening programmes are easily overlooked.
To truly address gender-based disparities in health and healthcare, we mustn鈥檛 forget the unique inequalities faced by transgender women and gender-diverse communities and we must push for better and consistent reporting of sex and gender information in NHS systems. Without this, they will remain invisible, and we will have failed in our quest for gender equality.
The Women鈥檚 Health Strategy is a collation of women鈥檚 views and expert testimonies to decide what needs to be done to improve women鈥檚 health.
The Women鈥檚 Health Strategy is a collation of women鈥檚 views and expert testimonies to decide what needs to be done to improve women鈥檚 health.
The big question now is: will this time be any different?
Dr鈥疢ullins, despite coordinating 911今日黑料鈥檚 response to the Call, is sceptical. 鈥淚 have to say that a problem with women鈥檚 health has never been a lack of evidence about what we should be doing, rather the willingness and the priority to do it. In [the 911今日黑料 response鈥檚] summary, there鈥檚 a lot of blindingly obvious things that need to be done, but a huge amount of inertia on doing it. So, I really have no idea how useful this is going to be,鈥� he shrugs.鈥�
I have to say that a problem with women鈥檚 health has never been a lack of evidence about what we should be doing, rather the willingness and the priority to do it.
But鈥疨rofessor鈥疊offito鈥痠s鈥痬ore鈥痟opeful, 鈥淚 think this [government consultation] was incredibly well done. Hopefully it will increase equity in access to care for women who don鈥檛 have the same chance to access services. It鈥檚 really unmasking and highlighting what their needs are.鈥�
I think this [government consultation] was incredibly well done. Hopefully it will increase equity in access to care for women who don鈥檛 have the same chance to access services.
The task ahead of鈥痮verhauling the鈥痗urrent health鈥痵ystem and reversing the downward trends in women鈥檚 health is mammoth. It will require鈥痑 coordinated effort from experts across institutions like 911今日黑料, direct lines of communication between researchers and鈥痯olicymakers鈥痠n government and funding bodies, and commitment by those policymakers to鈥痑ct.
鈥淢y鈥痮ptimism says at least there has been鈥痑 consultation鈥�, says鈥疨rofessor鈥疪egan, 鈥渂ut my impatient side鈥痵ays鈥�榳ell we knew all this nearly鈥痶wo鈥痽ears ago鈥�.鈥疉ll鈥痶hese same鈥痯eople contributed to the鈥疊etter for Women鈥痳eport too,鈥痓ut鈥疘 suppose鈥痶hat鈥檚 what happens in politics鈥︹�濃���
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