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Showing results for tags 'Womens health'.
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Content ArticleToo many women are dying from disadvantage in one of the poorest parts of England, according to ground breaking new research which serves as an urgent wake-up call for levelling up efforts. The report by Agenda Alliance and Changing Lives, Dismantling disadvantage has found that in 2021 a woman in the North East of England was 1.7 times more likely to die early as a result of suicide, addiction, or murder by a partner or family member than in the rest of England and Wales. Today’s new research was conducted to better understand the lives and needs of disadvantaged women in the North East, including Newcastle, coastal areas and Gateshead and Sunderland; some of the poorest regions in the country. Working with women with lived experience at every stage, the study involved 18 in-depth interviews, 47 survey responses; focus groups; data analysis and multiple meetings with affected women, practitioners and policy makers.
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News Article
Lung cancer diagnoses of UK women to outnumber men’s for first time
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The number of women diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK is expected to overtake men this year for the first time, according to projections that have prompted calls for women to be as vigilant about the disease as they are about breast cancer. Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for one in five of the total. It has one of the worst cancer survival rates, which is largely attributed to diagnoses at a late stage, when treatment is less likely to be effective. Analysis by Cancer Research UK for the Guardian suggests women will overtake men for lung cancer diagnoses in 2022-24. The projections suggest that this year, female cases will eclipse male cases for the first time, with 27,332 and 27,172 cases respectively. Cancer experts said the “very stark” figures reflected historical differences in smoking prevalence, specifically that smoking rates peaked much earlier in men than women. Women should now be as alert to potential lung cancer signs as they were about checking for lumps in their breasts, they said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 5 July 2023 -
News Article
US maternal deaths doubled in last 20 years, study finds
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Maternal mortality rates have doubled in the US over the last two decades - with deaths highest among black mothers, a new study suggests. American Indian and Alaska Native women saw the greatest increase, the study in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) said. Southern states had the highest maternal death rates across all race and ethnicity groups, the study found. In 1999, there were an estimated 12.7 deaths per 100,000 live births and in 2019 that figure rose to 32.2 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2019, according to the research, which did not study data from the pandemic years. Unlike other studies, this one examined disparities within states instead of measuring rates at the national level, and it monitored five racial and ethnic groups. Dr Allison Bryant, one of the study's authors, said the findings were a call to action "to understand that some of it is about health care and access to health care, but a lot of it is about structural racism". She said some current policies and procedures "may keep people from being healthy". Read full story Source: BBC News, 4 July 2023 -
News Article
Ministers refuse to set target for ending maternal deaths disparity
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The government has rejected calls to set a target and strategy to end ‘appalling’ disparities in maternal deaths. In response to a Commons women and equalities committee report, published on Friday, ministers said a “concrete target does not necessarily focus resource and attention through the best mechanisms”. The response added: “We do not believe a target and strategy is the best approach towards progress.” The government said disparities will be monitored through local maternity and neonatal systems, which are partnerships comprising commissioners, providers and local authorities. A recommendation to increase the annual budget for maternity services to up to £350m per year, backed by the now chancellor Jeremy Hunt, and maternity investigator Donna Ockenden, was also rejected. Read full story Source: HSJ, 3 July 2023 -
Content ArticleDavina McCall’s documentary Pill Revolution missed an opportunity to validate painful experiences of intrauterine devices and promote better practice, writes Stephanie O'Donohue, Patient Safety Learning's Content and Engagement Manager, in an opinion piece for the BMJ.
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Content ArticleOn the 18 April 2023 the Women and Equalities Select Committee published a report on Black maternal health. This analysed Government and NHS activities to date in this area and made a number of recommendations for further action needed to end disparities in maternal deaths. This paper sets out the UK Government’s response to the recommendations in this report.
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Content ArticleWhat health condition affects some 200 million people around the world, yet remains woefully misunderstood, underfunded, and barely addressed in medical-school curricula? Endometriosis is a disease that the World Health Organization estimates affects 1 in 10 women and girls globally. And yet the National Institute of Health allocates a whopping 0.038% of its research resources to the disorder. Endometriosis, which involves tissue similar to uterine tissue growing elsewhere in the body, has myriad symptoms, including GI distress, migraines, discomfort during sex and abdominal pain that can range from debilitating to excruciating. Countless women miss days of school and work, lose their jobs, and suffer depression as a result of the illness. Experts say endometriosis could be the underlying cause of 50% of infertility cases. L Despite efforts to raise awareness, it persists as an underground topic, and many doctors are ill equipped to help those afflicted or don’t even believe their patients. “It’s a perfect storm of undervaluing women and women’s health, inequities in health care, menstrual taboo, gender bias, racial bias, and financial barriers to healthcare,” said Shannon Cohn, the director of Below the Belt: The Last Health Taboo, a searing one-hour documentary set to premiere on PBS.
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News Article
Malta to allow abortion but only when woman’s life is at risk
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Maltese lawmakers have unanimously approved legislation to ease the strictest abortion laws in the EU, voting to allow terminations – but only in cases where a woman’s life is at risk. Ahead of the vote on Wednesday, pro-choice campaigners withdrew their support, saying last-minute changes make the legislation “vague, unworkable and even dangerous”. The original bill allowing access to abortion if a pregnant woman’s life or health is in danger was hailed as a step in the right direction for Malta, a majority-Catholic country. It was introduced last November after an American tourist who miscarried had to be airlifted off the Mediterranean island nation to be treated. Under the amendments, however, a risk to health is not enough. A woman must be at risk of death to access an abortion, and then only after three specialists consent. The new legislation allows a doctor to terminate a pregnancy without specialist consultation only if the mother’s life is at immediate risk. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 28 June 2023 -
Content ArticleDoctors are taught from medical school about the benefits of IUDs, and often encourage patients that they are a good contraceptive option. However, recent media attention on the pain that some women suffer when having their IUDs fitted has started conversations about the need for cervical blocks and more honest counselling of women about the procedure. Rebekah Fenton, adolescent medicine fellow at Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, joins us to talk about how she counsels her patients, and why the most important thing is to make sure women are in charge of their reproductive healthcare decisions.
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News Article
Cardiff: Women 'treated differently' due to ethnicity at hospital
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
There is evidence of black, Asian and minority ethnic women being treated differently at the University Hospital of Wales, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) has said. HIW completed an inspection of UHW's maternity services in November 2022 and served an urgent improvement notice. A follow up inspection in March found continuing issues with patient safety. The inspectorate said in November that it identified issues which meant that patients were not consistently receiving an "acceptable standard of timely, safe, and effective care". Although "some improvements had been made in many areas... there remained significant challenges, and overall, the improvements were not progressing at the pace required", it said. The report added: "We found low morale amongst staff that we spoke to, and similar comments were received following a staff survey. Read full story Source: BBC News, 22 June 2023 -
Content Article
Transvaginal mesh case record review (20 June 2023)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Women's health
The final report on the Transvaginal Mesh Case Record Review. -
News Article
Mesh surgery women not given accurate advice, says report
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Women who underwent mesh surgery were not given accurate information before the life-altering procedure, a case review has found. The study also said poor communication between patients and doctors led, in some cases, to mistrust. Medical notes were often misleading or did not detail the surgery that had occurred or its outcomes. The review spent two years looking at the cases of 18 women who received transvaginal mesh implants. It has now called for a comprehensive register to be set up to keep track of women who have had operations to remove mesh in Scotland, abroad and privately. The Transvaginal Mesh Case Record Review by Glasgow Caledonian University makes a series of other recommendations, including: Better aftercare following surgery Clear language so patients understand exactly what surgery is going to achieve. Read full story Source: BBC News, 21 June 2023 -
Content Article
In this interview, we speak to sociologist Dr Marieke Bigg about why she decided to write her debut non-fiction This won’t hurt: How medicine fails women. Marieke discusses how societal ideas about the female body have restricted the healthcare system’s approach to women’s health and describes the impact this has had on health outcomes. She also highlights areas where the health system is reframing its approach by listening to the needs of women and describes how simple changes, such as allowing women to carry out their own cervical screening at home, can make a big difference. -
Content ArticleMP Emma Hardy and Sling The Mesh drafted a letter to MP Maria Caulfield for an update on mesh centres, waiting times and outcome measures. The letter was sent in January 2023 and the reply has been received this week and shared by Sling the Mesh.
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News Article“Stop killing us,” protesters across Poland chanted this evening, demanding the legalisation of abortion, after reports reached the media of a pregnant woman’s death in a hospital in May. On Monday, Poland’s patients’ rights ombudsman, Bartłomiej Chmielowiec, said that the John Paul II hospital should have told 33-year-old Dorota Lalik that her life could be saved through an abortion. The hospital violated her rights by withholding the information, the ombudsman ruled. The woman died in the hospital in Nowy Targ, in the south of the country, on 24 May, three days after her admission. “No one told us that we had practically no chance for a healthy baby … The entire time they were giving us false hope that everything will be OK … that [in the worst case] the child will be premature,” Lalik’s husband told Polish media. “No one gave us the choice or the chance to save Dorota, because no one told us her life was at risk.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 14 June 2023
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Content ArticleRace and ethnicity have been associated with poor pregnancy outcomes in many countries. In the UK, the rates of baby death and stillbirth among Black and Asian mothers are double those for White women. Most studies examine trends for individual countries. This large database study explored how race and ethnicity is linked to pregnancy outcomes in wealthy countries. Key findings Black women consistently had worse outcomes than White women across the globe. Hispanic women were three times more likely to experience baby death compared with White women. South Asian women had an increased risk of early birth and having a baby with an unexpectedly low weight (small for the length of pregnancy) compared with White women. Racial disparities in some outcomes were found in all regions. The researchers call for a global, joined-up approach to tackling disparities. Breaking down barriers to care for ethnic minorities, particularly Black women, could help. More research is needed to understand why outcomes are for worse for ethnic minorities. The researchers recommend routine collection of data on race and ethnicity. The link below takes you to the Plain English summary of the research, you can also view the full research study.
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Content ArticleIn this article, published by British Vogue, Alexa Chung shares her experiences of endometriosis and the barriers and attitudes she faced in seeking a diagnosis and treatment.
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Content Article
The aim of this report, written in partnership with Fair Treatment for Women of Wales, is to provide NHS Wales with the service-user perspective of miscarriage care in Wales and how it could be improved to reduce the harm being caused by poor-quality, inconsistent care. -
Content Article
This report, produced by Fair Treatment for Women of Wales, contains an outline of current practice in Wales, patient testimonies, and a series of recommendations for improved care provision for lupus and, by extension, other rare auto-immune diseases. -
Content Article
This report, produced by Fair Treatment for Women of Wales, provides NHS Wales with invaluable insight on how to improve menopause services across the country, including the provision of factual, evidence-based information and skilled professionals, enabling every woman to make informed choices about how she manages her menopause symptoms. -
Content ArticleThis report was prepared by the Endometriosis Task and Finish Group and submitted to the Welsh Government on 16 April 2018. Authors propose a robust care pathway based on NICE guidance using a life course approach to ensure that symptoms are recognised and responded to promptly and appropriately, as they emerge.
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Content Article
Women’s Health Wales: A Quality Statement for the Health of Women, Girls, and those Assigned Female at Birth is an an inclusive report co-produced by the Women Health Wales Coalition, which outlines physical and mental health issues which affect women across the life course. The report makes a series of recommendations which if implemented will improve women’s health, lives and wellbeing regardless of race, ethnicity, disability, socio-economic status, sexual orientation or gender identity. Key Themes Access to specialist services Improved data collection Support for sustainable co-production Training for health and care professionals. -
Content ArticleThe U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently changed its recommendations for all women to get screened for breast cancer every other year starting at age 40 instead of 50. Wanda Nicholson, USPSTF Vice Chair and professor at George Washington University said the updated recommendations “will save more lives among all women.” However, time and time again, the evidence shows that screening healthy women using mammograms in fact, does not save lives. Dr Maryanne Demasi discusses the evidence.
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News Article
Adenomyosis: NHS failing women, health ambassador says
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The NHS in England is "failing women", the government's women's health ambassador has said. Prof Dame Lesley Regan, appointed to support the Women's Health Strategy implementation, was speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live's Naga Munchetty. Last month, Munchetty, 48, revealed she had been diagnosed with the womb condition adenomyosis, after waiting years in severe pain. Dame Lesley said she wanted women to be able to self-refer to specialists. Women and girls should not have to seek "permission [to] go and have your crippling menstrual pain sorted out", she said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 6 June 2023 -
Content ArticleThe Women's Health Strategy for England was developed and published in 2022 in response to the growing recognition of the unique health needs and challenges faced by women in England (and the U.K.) and was brought forward to address longstanding gaps in women's healthcare and to promote better health outcomes for women across the country. This Forbes article looks at why women’s health should be included in every government’s agenda. The author speaks to Professor Dame Lesley Regan, Women's Health Ambassador for England about the progress of the strategy and Dr. Ranee Thakar, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists about the need to ensure underrepresented groups are included in the strategy.
