How can we advance healthcare solutions design to improve outcomes for women, children and society?
To mark International Women’s Day, Deborah Burrage , PhD (Developmental Origins of Health and Disease), Client Solutions Director, Brand Strategy, shares her reflections on sex - and gender-based health inequities that impact women.
“Communities and countries and ultimately the world are only as strong as the health of their women.” Michelle Obama
Should we ask women what they (we!) want from healthcare? Of course, the answer is yes, but as an industry, we can do better.
Globally, the impact of sex- and gender-based health inequity on women – and by extension, children and everyone – can be shocking and profound. And rich countries are not immune. Even before the pandemic, life expectancies for women were falling in some parts of England. In fact, the UK was found to have the largest female health gap in the G20 and the 12th largest globally.
While the causes are likely to be complex, the demographic groups impacted the heaviest are also those who struggle most to access appropriate healthcare, and have the lowest health literacy.
Gender stereotypes are part of the inequity picture – for example, leading to routine under-estimation (and under-treating) of women’s pain. A UK retrospective study of patients diagnosed with heart failure in 2002–14 identified that women were 13% less likely than men to receive treatment.
Inequity extends deep, into the development of new medicines. Women of child-bearing age are limited in their treatment choices due to a lack of data. While women made up 43% of clinical trial participants globally in 2015–16, those unable to adhere to strict contraception requirements have often been excluded.
This is exacerbated by often poor understanding of known risks of treatments to pregnant women and their children among Healthcare Professionals. The onus is on us to work thoughtfully to question potential inequities across all our work, from drug development to quality of care and public health engagement. We should carefully explore the relevant academic research, and deeply involve those who we impact in solutions design. It’s not enough to ask women what we want, because frankly, we don’t know what we’re missing.
At Lucid Group, we are committed to creating equitable outcomes through the work we do for clients and patients. This commitment extends to providing an inclusive culture that supports women of all backgrounds and identities.
References
- Obama M, Remarks by the First Lady at the State Dependent Women of Courage Awards. Obama Whitehouse Archives. 11 March 2009.
- World Health Organization (WHO). Health Equity.
- Fleming TP, et al. Origins of lifetime health around the time of conception: causes and consequences. Lancet. 2018;391:1842-52.
- UK Parliament. Women’s health outcomes: Is there a gender gap? House of Lords Library. 01 July 2021.
- UCL News. Analysis: Women’s pain is routinely underestimated, and gender stereotypes are to blame. 09 April 2021.
- Conrad N, et al. Diagnostic tests, drug prescriptions, and follow-up patterns after incident heart failure: A cohort study of 93,000 UK patients. PLoS Med. 2019:16(5)e1002805.
- The Guardian. Lack of drugs for use in pregnancy ‘resulting in needless deaths’ in UK. 12 May 2022.