Search the hub
Showing results for tags 'Womens health'.
Found 814 results
-
Content ArticleIn this episode of The King's Fund podcast, host Helen McKenna speaks with Professor Dame Lesley Regan and Dr Janine Austin Clayton about women’s health journeys from start to finish. They explore why women can struggle to get medical professionals to listen to them and the impact this has on diagnosis and treatment, as well as the mental and physical effects on women themselves.
-
Content ArticleIn this article for the Evening Standard, journalist Susannah Butter talks to Caroline Criado Perez about her book, 'Invisible Women, Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men'. Criado Perez discusses inequalities faced by women in healthcare, including delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis and exclusion from medical research. The article also looks at tech solutions being founded by women to fill gaps and address these inequalities.
-
Content Article
In this blog, we take a look at why women have been historically underrepresented in clinical trials and medical research, and the ongoing implications this has on medication safety for women. -
Content Article
Misogyny is a safety issue: a blog by Saira Sundar
SairaS posted an article in Women's health
In this opinion piece, hub topic lead Saira Sundar looks at the culture of misogyny we have inherited in the medical profession, particularly in the obstetrics and gynaecology area of medicine. We hear time and time again women speaking up about being mistreated and/or disbelieved by medical professionals, resulting in delays in diagnosis and serious harm. However, there is a real change being forced by women themselves, with the public increasingly questioning and insisting on improvement and the right to be heard. -
Content ArticleIn this episode of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Podcast, IEA Head of Political Economy Dr Kristian Niemietz discusses the findings of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, and how the healthcare system in England responds to reports about harmful side effects from medicines and medical devices. Kristian speaks with Simon Whale, panel member and communications lead for the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review and Dr Sonia Macleod, lead researcher, Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review. They discuss how the NHS, and other health bodies, could improve their services to address poor care and prevent harm.
-
Content ArticleThis is an Early Day Motion tabled in the House of Commons on 28 February 2022, which calls on the Government to implement the recommendations of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review in full, including paying compensation to people disabled by Sodium Valproate.
-
Content ArticleThe aim of this study from Liu et al. was to assess the impact of the Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF) first trimester screening algorithm for pre-eclampsia on health disparities in perinatal death among minority ethnic groups.
-
Content ArticleThis report presents maternal mortality rates in the USA for 2020 based on data from the National Vital Statistics System. Maternal mortality rates, which are the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, are shown in this report by age group and race and Hispanic origin. In 2020, 861 women were identified as having died of maternal causes in the United States, compared with 754 in 2019. The maternal mortality rate for 2020 was 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births compared with a rate of 20.1 in 2019. In 2020, the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women was 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, 2.9 times the rate for non-Hispanic White women (19.1). Rates for non-Hispanic Black women were significantly higher than rates for non-Hispanic White and Hispanic women. The increases from 2019 to 2020 for non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic women were significant. The observed increase from 2019 to 2020 for non-Hispanic White women was not significant.
-
Content ArticleWhile men over 50 tend to suffer the most acute symptoms of coronavirus, women who get Long Covid outnumber men by as much as four to one.
-
Content ArticleCOVID-19 has highlighted the urgency of addressing violence against women and children, which reports suggest has increased during the pandemic. Often referred to as a “shadow pandemic,” the rise in violence over the past two years has been linked to lockdowns and other restrictions on movement put in place due to COVID-19, which force women and children to remain at home with their abusers. In 2016, the World Health Organization published a global plan of action to address violence against women, children, and girls. It proposed a four-pronged approach: firstly, strengthen health system leadership and governance; secondly, strengthen health service delivery and health workers’ capacity to respond; thirdly, strengthen programming to prevent interpersonal violence; and lastly, improve information and evidence. In this BMJ opinion article, Helga Fogstad discusses why, five years on, these measures are needed more than ever and why it's time to act.
-
Content Article
In this opinion piece, Kath Sansom, founder of the Sling the Mesh campaign, highlights the many issues that women face when trying to get pelvic mesh slings surgically removed. She calls for the NHS to give patients a voice and to develop a robust and consistent plan to tackle the issues faced by patients harmed by surgical mesh. -
Content ArticlePulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare disease characterised by pulmonary vascular remodelling and elevated pulmonary pressure, which eventually leads to right heart failure and death. Registries worldwide have noted a female predominance of the disease, spurring particular interest in hormonal involvement in the disease pathobiology. Several experimental models have shown both protective and deleterious effects of oestrogens, suggesting that complex mechanisms participate in PAH pathogenesis. In fact, oestrogen metabolites as well as receptors and enzymes implicated in oestrogen signalling pathways and associated conditions such as BMPR2 mutation contribute to PAH penetrance more specifically in women. Conversely, females have better right ventricular function, translating to a better prognosis. Along with right ventricular adaptation, women tend to respond to PAH treatment differently from men. As some young women suffer from PAH, contraception is of particular importance, considering that pregnancy in patients with PAH is strongly discouraged due to high risk of death. When contraception measures fail, pregnant women need a multidisciplinary team-based approach. This article from Cheron et al. aims to review epidemiology, mechanisms underlying the higher female predominance, but better prognosis and the intricacies in management of women affected by PAH.
-
Content ArticleMany devices in current use were marketed before the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began regulating devices in 1976. Thus, manufacturers of these devices were not required to demonstrate safety and effectiveness, which presents both clinical and ethical problem for patients, especially for women, as some of the most dangerous devices—such as implanted contraceptive devices— are used only in women. This article from Madris Kinard and Rita F. Redberg investigates whether and to what extent devices for women receive less rigorous scrutiny than devices for men. This article also suggests how the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health could more effectively ensure safety and effectiveness of devices that were marketed prior to 1976.
-
Content ArticleThe Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is undertaking a project to look at the impact of the pandemic on gynaecology waiting lists. The work will look at the size and scale of waiting lists and at the impact this is having on those who are waiting longer for diagnosis and treatment, and on the wider health service. The College would like to hear from people whose gynaecology care has been affected by the pandemic. This might mean you have struggled to get an appointment with or a referral from your GP to see a gynaecologist, waited longer for tests or a scan to receive a diagnosis of a gynaecological condition, or waited longer for treatment or surgery. The College wants to understand your experiences of having a suspected or diagnosed gynaecological condition that isn’t cancer, as ‘benign’ gynaecological conditions are managed differently in the NHS. This could be for conditions such as endometriosis or fibroids, heavy periods, incontinence or recurrent urinary infections – anything you’d be referred to a gynaecologist for. You can access the survey through the link below.
-
Content ArticleSuzanne Banks presented at the NHS Health at Work Network Conference on menopause in the workplace and highlighted the case study of Sherwood Forest Hospitals. View her presentation slides below.
-
Content ArticleThis is an Early Day Motion tabled in the House of Commons on the 21st October 2021, which notes disappointment with the UK Government’s response to the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review. The motion calls on the Government to reconsider its response and to implement all nine recommendations in their entirety, and to ensure patient safety remains paramount in any changes to regulatory approval frameworks.
-
Content ArticleNursing is a predominantly female profession, yet sex and gender bias is rife. In a remarkably candid conversation, feminist writer Caroline Criado Perez, author of ‘Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men’, talks about how health care and health care research fails women, how changes are needed for women experiencing miscarriage – and what it means when medicine treats the female body as atypical and niche. Nursing Matters is presented by PNC Chair Rachel Hollis and PNC member Alison Leary. For this episode they are also joined by RCN member Leanne Patrick, who works in services for women experiencing gender-based violence and tweets on behalf of the RCN Feminist Network.
-
Content Article
British Menopause Society: Tools for clinicians
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Women's health
The British Menopause Society has developed a range of resources to summarise the NICE Guideline, provide guidance on HRT prescribing and other treatment options, and to clarify some of the most common myths and misconceptions of menopause. -
Content Article
Menopause: The Change is Here (18 October 2021)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Women's health
The British Menopause Society and ITN Productions Industry News launch 'Menopause: The Change is Here' on World Menopause Day empowering, supporting and educating women to improve their menopause symptoms as well as protect their long-term health. Anchored by British journalist and news presenter Louise Minchin from the ITN Studios in London, 'Menopause: The Change is Here' shines a spotlight on the impact menopausal symptoms have on women’s health and careers, addressing the misinformation that still surrounds the subject. The programme shows women how to access good advice, recognise the diverse symptoms, understand more about the importance of managing hormone health and explore the treatment options available. The programme also explores the vital work being done by leading organisations to ensure women are supported in the workplace, highlighting the new approaches to changes in workplace policy and education. -
Content ArticleGetting It Right First Time (GIRFT) is designed to improve the quality of care within the NHS by reducing unwarranted variations. By tackling variations in the way services are delivered across the NHS, and by sharing best practice between trusts, GIRFT identifies changes that will help improve care and patient outcomes, as well as delivering efficiencies such as the reduction of unnecessary procedures and cost savings.
-
Content ArticleChronic pain patients are often dismissed and told the pain is in their head. For World Mental Health Day, Glasgow Live reporter Sophie Buchan shares her first-hand experience of gaslighting. Gaslighting refers to a form of emotional abuse which involves "manipulating someone by psychological means into doubting their own sanity". This can also happen in medical settings - referred to as medical gaslighting. This is used to describe medical practitioners who blame a patient's symptoms on psychological factors, or deny a patient's illness, for example, doubting their pain because they "don't look sick".
-
Content ArticlePrisons and Probation Ombudsman Sue McAllister has published the independent investigation into the death of a baby (Baby A) at HMP Bronzefield on 27 September 2019. The investigation identified a considerable number of issues and concerns about the care and management of Ms A, the baby’s mother. Sue makes a significant number of recommendations to improve maternity services in Bronzefield. There is wider learning for the whole of the women’s prison estate from the death of Baby A, and the Prison Service must take this opportunity to improve the outcomes for pregnant prisoners so that this tragic event is not repeated.
-
Content ArticleThis opinion piece for the BMJ is written by Miles Sibley, Director for the Patient Experience Library, and Rebecca Steinfeld, Head of Policy at National Voices. They highlight the avoidable harm that has impacted on thousands of women in recent years, drawing on several inquiries to evidence the need to put women's voices at the centre of their care (a core theme for the Women's Health Strategy). They argue that patient experience is too often undervalued when it comes to evidence gathering, and that supporting systems must be improved in order to make positive changes for patient safety.
-
Content ArticleGood quality midwifery care saves the lives of women and babies. Continuity of midwife carer (CMC), a key component of good quality midwifery care, results in better clinical outcomes, higher care satisfaction and enhanced caregiver experience. However, CMC uptake has tended to be small scale or transient. McInnes et al. used realist evaluation in one Scottish health board to explore implementation of CMC as part of the Scottish Government 2017 maternity plan.
-
Content ArticleThis article discusses evidence that doctors-in-training and medical students are still performing pelvic exams on anesthetized women without their consent.
