What’s up doc? Why women’s health and inequalities they face continues to be a challenge
With the recent publication of the women’s health strategy and the appointment of Professor Dame Lesley Regan as a Women’s Health Ambassador in England, we have seen that there is a greater focus on supporting women’s health and well-being across the UK and we hear daily of the need to have a greater focus on women’s health globally.
But is anything truly moving the needle on improving awareness, diagnosis and treatment, when 51% of the population still faces obstacles when it comes to getting the care they need? And what is the impact, especially for those that don’t feel heard?
As we enter March, there are two important milestones – endometriosis and ovarian cancer awareness months. Both have many similarities with symptoms that can be hard to pinpoint to one condition and need better understanding and earlier diagnosis to improve management and outcomes.
Ovarian cancer is the 6th most common cancer in females in the UK, with 21 new cases detected every day. Sadly, it is only detected at stage I or II in 20% of cases meaning a large number of women live with undiagnosed ovarian cancer in the early stages when it’s most treatable. It is the combination of poor screening tests and struggles with misdiagnosis, from symptoms such as bloating, that makes it such a dangerous disease.
Equally, endometriosis affects 1.5 million women and those assigned female at birth (AFAB), a similar number of those living with diabetes. It takes on average eight years from onset of symptoms to get a diagnosis, and that is often if you are one of the ‘lucky’ ones. Did you know that 176 million women and those AFAB worldwide are living with endometriosis? This is huge, but this number is much higher, as many are not even close to a correct diagnosis, putting it down to IBS or it just being a bad period.
More needs to be done for women to ensure they get the right support and the best outcomes. However, without the right information that people can relate to, access to care and to a healthcare professional that has a greater understanding of these conditions, there will continue to be repeated misdiagnosis and health disparities for women and those AFAB.
So, how can comms help to educate and raise awareness, as well as reduce health inequalities, not only with the general public, but also with healthcare professionals to speed up diagnosis and timely management?
At Ketchum we know that to help change behaviour and make progress you need to start with a culture first and targeted approach – if you try to speak to everyone, you speak to no-one. Think:
- People like me. Most need to see themselves and something that resonates with their life and background to engage. There is a need for better and more diverse female representation.
- Language is key. It really is what you say that matters. When communicating about health conditions we can get stuck behind stats and facts, but we need to tell the human story to create an emotive response.
- It’s not just what you say but where and how. Get the channels nailed to reach the right people at the right place, right time. Segment you target audiences and create a tailored approach for them and in the most engaging format.
- Walk the walk if you talk the talk. Companies need to ensure they themselves have the right policies in place and take care of their own. Check your own policies and how you support your employees whether through flexible working, mental wellbeing resources, parental leave, menopause, or period leave etc.
- Ensure you have lived experience as part of the process. These health conditions are often tied to a lot of emotion. It can be hard to join the conversation if you haven’t been touched by these conditions directly. If you don’t have lived experience, be ready to learn and talk to those who do to ensure you create something that resonates.
If you want to understand how we can support you in creating impactful campaigns, get in touch with us.
To find out more about Endometriosis visit: https://www.endometriosis-uk.org/
To find out more about Ovarian Cancer visit: https://targetovariancancer.org.uk/
Written by Helena Farren, Nina Vadjaraganian and Tania Correia
