If you’re a man, you’re more likely to have a health condition that could kill you. But if you’re a woman, you’re more likely to live in poor health. Women spend 25 percent more of their lives poor health compared to men. In short, this is the gender health gap.
When a woman walks into the hospital, she is less likely than men to have her pain assessed, and if she is treated for her pain, she will, on average, wait longer than men to receive treatment. If she has a disease that affects only women, she may find that there is no satisfactory treatment. When she is given medications, they may not work as well as expected or have side effects because they may have been tested primarily on men. Even if she has a disease that affects both sexes, study suggests that she will be diagnosed later than men.
This is not the consequence of a single problem but the product of many failures in society in general and the health sector in particular. Sexism in the medical system, where women’s symptoms are often overlooked and misdiagnosed. The clinical trials were poorly designed, mainly involving men. Biased research funding is rarely spent on conditions that only affect women or to explore how women are specifically affected by certain diseases. And medical schools cannot afford to teach about women’s health.
ONE recent report from the McKinsey Health Institute describes gender health gap considered “a $1 trillion opportunity to improve lives and the economy,” such is the scale of the imbalance in women’s health care around the world. According to BMJClosing this gap in the UK could deliver a £39 billion ($51 billion) boost to the UK economy. It will save lives and improve the well-being of millions of people—both women and men.
Almost two years since the first UK publication Women’s health strategy10-year plan to improve the health of women everywhere, the UK Department of Health announced on Monday that they plan to offer “patient passports,” digital record of health data that can be accessed by various healthcare providers. It is hoped that this move will speed up patient care and reduce errors. For this reason, WIRED has brought together experts from many different medical fields to propose changes that can quickly and affordably change the direction of women’s health.
Provide early screening programs for PCOS
Karen Joash, leading obstetrician and gynecologist
Polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS is an endocrine disorder that affects approximately 10% of women of reproductive age worldwide. Although the condition is quite common, late diagnosis of PCOS is a serious problem, leading to many long-term health consequences. Addressing this delay must be a priority for the government due to its significant impact on public health.
Lack of health education is an important factor contributing to delayed diagnosis: Women are often unaware of symptoms, such as irregular menstrual cycles and excess body hair. body where there is usually little hair and acne. Unresolved PCOS can lead to serious long-term effects, including cardiovascular disease, infertility, and impaired glucose metabolism, significantly reducing quality of life and increasing health care costs.
