Challenging the Status Quo and Redefining Women’s Health

Despite significant advances in medicine, the landscape of women's health remains critically underfunded and under-researched. In 2023, approximately 4% of the $26.5 billion in venture capital contributed to the health care industry was invested in women’s health companies.¹ While this small percentage is the highest investment that women’s health companies have received over the last 5 years, there is opportunity for further momentum and progress in 2024 and beyond.¹ Furthermore, we must recognize that women’s health is more than reproductive health. Women disproportionately suffer from certain health conditions, with a 20% higher risk of heart failure or death within 5 years after a severe heart attack compared to men.² Women are also more likely to experience disability.^3,4 These statistics highlight a glaring oversight in health care priorities.

Despite the variety of health conditions women may experience, published research on women’s health care has historically focused on reproductive health, known as ”below the belt” issues, sidelining other areas that critically affect women’s overall health outcomes and quality of life.⁵ Recognizing that healthy women are pivotal to the well-being of families, communities, and societies at large, there is an urgent need to expand our view of women's health beyond just reproductive care. It is imperative that the health care community adopt a more holistic approach that addresses the vast array of health challenges faced by women today.

Addressing Overlooked Aspects of the Health of Women

Fostering healthier living and empowering women at every stage of life starts by actively listening to her needs and experiences. Image Credit: © peopleimages.com - stock.adobe.com

Fostering healthier living and empowering women at every stage of life starts by actively listening to her needs and experiences. This deeper understanding will pave the way for creating tailored, effective health care solutions that truly reflect and meet the varied health needs of women.

During a recent Her Plan is Her Power listening tour across the US with Organon CEO Kevin Ali, I visited 3 community health clinics funded through our grant partnership with Direct Relief.⁶ These visits highlighted the complex, multifaceted health needs of women, both reproductive and beyond, and the steps the health care community can take to better support women’s health:

• Addressing Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). Listening to patients, physicians, and local community members in different areas of the United States revealed a significant gap in addressing non-medical SDOH. For instance, 40% of patients at AccessHealth, a community health center focusing on providing primary health care services for the low-income population, are food insecure. To address this, we can expand access to legal services and programs like Food Rx, which provides prescriptions for fresh fruits and vegetables that patients can redeem at local grocers; advocate for infrastructure improvements (such as sidewalks to help patients walk safely in their neighborhood for exercise, as well as mold remediation); and promote the development of community gardens. This type of recognition and investment in community infrastructure and partnerships with local organizations can help tackle the 80% to 90% of SDOH related to environmental factors, health behaviors, and socio-economic factors.⁷
• Filling Health Care Gaps Beyond Pregnancy. There is a critical need to broaden the scope of women's health care beyond reproductive care. Non-reproductive issues such as heart disease, mental health, and autoimmune diseases disproportionately affect women but receive significantly less attention and funding.^2,8,9 Women’s health conditions in pregnancy, such as preeclampsia and gestational diabetes, and menstruation, such as early menarche, are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular issues, but can go undiagnosed or untreated if women’s health issues are not addressed comprehensively.^10-12 To fill these gaps, greater investment in education, health awareness, and new treatment options for conditions that go beyond reproductive health is needed. At the same time, an integrated health care model, where primary care and women's care physicians work hand-in-hand and with community organizations and services, can help to better address women’s holistic needs.
• Improving Health Literacy and Education. A common issue across the clinics we visited was the lack of basic health knowledge. For instance, a young woman at one clinic we visited was unaware of her pregnancy until she sought help for what she thought was just abdominal pain. This underscores not only the need for access to health care resources, but also for improved educational content and conversations that are culturally competent and accessible. It is essential that patients understand their health and the medical information provided to them to make informed decisions about their care.
• Implementing Alternative Health Care Models. Traditional health care delivery models often fail to meet the needs of all patient populations, particularly in rural areas and diverse areas where no two communities are the same. Telehealth and mobile health care services, along with community-based organizations who understand the local challenges and have trust with the community, can help bridge these gaps by providing care directly to communities. These services should be expanded and supported to ensure wider accessibility and continuity of care.
• Building Trust Within Communities. Establishing trust within communities is crucial for delivering health care services. For example, at Plan A Health, which provides free health care services to communities in the Mississippi Delta, found that trust established through primary care services led to a significant increase—from 40% in 2023 to 85% in 2024—in patients receiving sexual and reproductive health services. Health care professionals should focus on building relationships through consistent, quality, and sustained interactions with community members, thereby fostering an environment of trust and openness for generations to come.

When women thrive, we all thrive.

Empowering women in their health care journey is not just about improving individual health outcomes—it's about strengthening families and communities. While reproductive health remains a crucial aspect of women's health care, it should not overshadow other essential health considerations for women.

Addressing the comprehensive health needs of women demands a paradigm shift from the traditional, narrowly focused approach on reproductive health to a broader, more inclusive health perspective that encompasses all aspects of women's health, outside and inside the health system, and throughout their lives. Our recent listening tour has not only highlighted specific areas where immediate action is needed, but it has also reinforced the indispensable role of listening, learning, and co-creating sustainable approaches to health that are grounded in understanding women's unique health experiences, which are dependent on their individual circumstances, including where they live, how they access health care, and how they are perceived and treated by health care professionals.

By adopting a more holistic approach and fostering partnerships across sectors, we can begin to dismantle the disparities in health care that women face and build a system that supports their health and well-being more holistically and sustainably for today and generations to come.

REFERENCES

1. Epker E. 2024 could be women’s health’s long-awaited, much-needed standout year. Forbes. January 15, 2024. Accessed July 1, 2024. https://www.forbes.com/sites/evaepker/2024/01/15/2024-could-be-womens-healths-long-awaited-much-needed-standout-year/

2. Women found to be at higher risk for heart failure and heart attack death than men. American Heart Association. Accessed June 11, 2024. https://newsroom.heart.org/news/women-found-to-be-at-higher-risk-for-heart-failure-and-heart-attack-death-than-men

3. Human rights watch: Women’s human rights: Disabled women and girls. Hrw.org. Accessed June 11, 2024. https://www.hrw.org/legacy/women/disabled.html

4. Kanter R, Caballero B. Global gender disparities in obesity: A review. Adv Nutr. 2012;3(4):491-498. doi:10.3945/an.112.002063

5. Hallam L, Vassallo A, Pinho-Gomes A, Carcel C, Woodward M. Does journal content in the field of women’s health represent women’s burden of disease? A review of publications in 2010 and 2020. Journal of Women's Health. 2022;31(5):611-619. doi:10.1089/jwh.2021.0425

6. Ellingrud K, Pérez L, Petersen A, Sartori V. Closing the Women’s Health Gap: A $1 Trillion Opportunity to Improve Lives and Economies. McKinsey & Company. January 17, 2024. Accessed June 11, 2024. https://www.mckinsey.com/mhi/our-insights/closing-the-womens-health-gap-a-1-trillion-dollar-opportunity-to-improve-lives-and-economies

7. Organon launches U.S. grant programs and listening tour as part of “Her Plan is Her Power,” reaching high-need communities to help reduce unplanned pregnancies. Organon. February 20, 2024. Accessed June 11, 2024. https://www.organon.com/news/organon-launches-u-s-grant-programs-and-listening-tour-as-part-of-her-plan-is-her-power-reaching-high-need-communities-to-help-reduce-unplanned-pregnancies/

8. Social Determinants of Health 101 for Health Care: Five Plus Five. Nam.edu. Accessed June 11, 2024. https://nam.edu/social-determinants-of-health-101-for-health-care-five-plus-five/#:~:text=Medical%20care%20is%20estimated%20to,socioeconomic%20factors%2C%20and%20environmental%20factors

9. 5 conditions that highlight the women’s health gap. Weforum.org. Accessed June 11, 2024. https://weforum.org/agenda/2024/05/womens-health-gap-healthcare/#:~:text=Growing%20evidence%20of%20the%20gender%20health%20gap&text=It%20found%20that%20women%20were,injuries%20and%20ischaemic%20heart%20disease

10. Women and depression. ADAA. Accessed August 5, 2024. https://adaa.org/find-help-for/women/depression

11. Preeclampsia - recognizing long-term impact. Preeclampsia Foundation - Saving mothers and babies from preeclampsia. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.preeclampsia.org/long-term-impact-healthcare-providers

12. Murray SR, Reynolds RM. Short‐ and long‐term outcomes of gestational diabetes and its treatment on fetal development. Prenat Diagn. 2020;40(9):1085-1091. doi:10.1002/pd.5768

13. Lee JJ, Cook-Wiens G, Johnson BD, et al. Age at menarche and risk of cardiovascular disease outcomes: Findings from the national heart lung and blood institute‐sponsored Women’s Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation. J Am Heart Assoc. 2019;8(12). doi:10.1161/jaha.119.012406