How to close the gender gap in health

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Menopause may be entering the public consciousness (although, surprisingly, it’s not a required part of the curriculum at 41 percent of UK university medical schools), but many other areas of women’s health suffer from an information gap for both physicians and patients. According to the Women’s Health Strategy findings, only 8 percent of respondents felt they had access to enough information about gynecological conditions such as endometriosis and fibroids. And moving away from conditions and closer to basic anatomical details, a 2017 survey found that almost half of women do not know what the cervix is. “They don’t know about their bodies and we’re not teaching them about their bodies,” Griffin says.

Too often, women are told their symptoms are “normal” when what doctors really should be saying is “common.” “Instead of saying, this is what happens, how can we make it better? We have said, this is just what happens, this is normal”. As a consequence, women leave their GP appointments feeling left out and not given the chance to talk about how their symptoms are affecting their lives. “The impact has been completely lost from the conversation.”

Part of the problem is that many doctors still don’t know the woman’s body. Women have been excluded from medical trials for a number of reasons, including the mistaken belief that their menstrual cycles could skew the results, perceived risks to childbearing potential, and concerns about fertility among women in their 20s and 30s. years, and the higher cost of incorporating another population. and/or subpopulations in medical studies. So, to date, researchers have extrapolated that what works for men will work for women, which, to state the obvious, doesn’t always work. take the sleeping pill zolpidem in the US, for example, that because it is released more slowly in women’s bodies than in men’s bodies, it still has an effect on women the morning after they take their dose. The FDA had to adjust the dosage for women after a series of high-profile car accidents raised awareness of the problem.

So how do we close the many gender gaps in healthcare? The UK government’s Women’s Health Strategy sets out a number of ambitions and positive actions, including a commitment to conduct reproductive health experience surveys every two years, as well as an investment of £2 million ($2.48 million ) in a randomized control trial on endometriosis to examine the effectiveness of surgery compared with non-surgical interventions in managing chronic pelvic pain in women. But many of the recommendations, while well-intentioned, are vague, difficult to implement, and difficult to measure.

Meanwhile, a new wave of companies is filling the gaps, invariably fueled by founders’ frustration at the alarming lack of options and information available. Carry The detail, the world’s first contraceptive review, advice and prescribing platform, which aims to provide an insightful, community-led experience of over 100 contraceptive methods, not just the standard pills prescribed by GPs. EITHER Juno Biography, the vaginal microbiome test, which claims it is “on a mission to close the gender health gap” by providing personalized results on vaginal microbes that empower women to take control of their fertility and overall health. EITHER Maven Clinicsa virtual care platform offering comprehensive care for those planning, starting and raising a family, with a dedicated “care advocate” for all members.