Opinion: It’s called the frequency illusion. You buy a red car and suddenly you notice red cars everywhere.
After a coffee with Dr Helen Rook, Acting Dean at Te Wāhanga Tātai Hauora Victoria University Faculty of Health, when she spoke about the difficulty she and her team have securing funding for research on women’s health matters, I now see women’s health concerns everywhere.
For example, the shortage of midwives in rural communities, as highlighted by reports from Central Otago and Southland of women giving birth in ambulances or at the side of the road. Though there is a shortage of midwives everywhere – we need to triple the number in training to address current deficits – it’s rural women who are disproportionately affected by shortages. Rural midwives account for just 11 percent of the midwifery workforce. but 18 percent of children aged 0-4 live in rural communities.
Then there is polycystic ovary syndrome. It’s the leading cause of infertility in women and in the US alone costs US$8 billion in healthcare each year. It’s under-researched, under-diagnosed and affects up to 12 percent of women.
Or endometriosis that is thought to impact 120 000 New Zealanders (roughly 1 in 10 girls and women). Endometriosis occurs when tissue such as the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. Even the description sounds painful. It can take years to get a diagnosis despite period and pelvic pain and infertility.
But then there is the big one. Heart disease is the number one killer of New Zealand women, more than 55 women die from it every week. More than 65,000 Kiwi women live with heart disease, and more than 3,000 will die from a heart attack each year. Heart disease in women is under-recognised and under-treated, with some conditions affecting women more than they do men, and some diseases specific to women.
All up, women live longer than men but spend more time living in poor health. There are stark inequities with life expectancy for wāhine Māori and Pacific women (77.3 years and 79.3 years respectively) lower than for European or Asian men (81.3 years and 85 years).
Luckily, a Women’s Health Strategy was developed last year with the aim of equitable health outcomes between men and women and all groups of women. The first one ever. It came about because of some persistent lobbying by some persistent women.
Its aims seem reasonable. That the health system should work for women, is the first aim. Of course it should but, as the strategy points out, gender bias means the system often does not. This means gaps in services for health conditions that only affect women or are more common in women. As well as gaps in research on women’s health, as Dr Rook had already pointed out to me.
The other aims are a focus on improving care for matters specific to women, better outcomes for mothers and their whānau, and that women can live and age well.
Again, pretty reasonable.
As the health system churns under endless reform and cuts, I can’t help wondering if the Women’s Health Strategy will be an early casualty. Or at least, chronically suffer.
Bad medical puns aside, investing in health of women and girls, our partners, our mums and daughters, seems just like a not-negotiable for all our future wellbeing and prosperity.
