Accelerating women’s health: what’s next?

Women’s health has been making some serious moves. The once quiet conversation is finally turning into a full-blown movement, empowering women to take charge of their healthcare journeys. Wearable gadgets for tracking everything from fertility to specific health conditions are just a tip of the iceberg, and we are ready to see what is next.

Why is women’s health still playing catch-up?

Historically, women’s health issues were brushed under the rug – underfunded, and under-researched, leaving this area of healthcare without valuable information, gaps in education, and overall understanding.?

Today, women still face misdiagnoses or late diagnoses, which can have a massive impact on the treatment they receive or their quality of life. If we don’t prioritise women’s health now, we’re risking more than just inconveniences – we’re risking lives. We have to do better.

What areas are still neglected??

• Mental health – lack of funding and research (especially when it comes to hormonal changes, gender-based discrimination and their effects on psychological health).
• Healthcare providers bias – delayed or wrong diagnosis and treatment, non-inclusive trials.??
• Reproductive health – lack of accessibility to contraception, maternal healthcare, and abortion services (depending on place of residence).??
• Menopause and ageing – managing symptoms, disorders, lack of education.
• Cardiovascular health? – misdiagnosis, lack of research and clinical trials.
• Autoimmune diseases? – limited treatments and research.
• Chronic pain conditions? – often overlooked and dismissed as “being part of a woman”, leading to delayed treatment.?
• Maternity and postpartum care – lack of postnatal care, postpartum depression, and complications related to childbirth.?

Thanks to growing awareness of these topics (and some girl power, too), there's a wind of change. The acceleration of innovation, with femtech at the helm, is putting women’s health in the spotlight where it belongs.

What’s next??

As the conversation around women’s health grows louder, we can expect a surge of interest from investors, shifts in policies, and better support for research. According to McKinsey Health Institute, investments in women’s health sector could potentially elevate the global economy by $1 trillion, annually.

At Health Tech Forward 2023, we hosted a panel on how technology can help blur the gender gap in healthcare – “Gender Gap: Using Technology to Overcome the Intersectional Challenges of Healthcare.” Experts dove into the core issues holding the industry back and explored how tech can tackle gender-specific care challenges.

Panelist Issy Gordon , Associate at Hambro Perks , spotlighted some key areas worth a closer look when it comes to solving gender gap issues: clinical trial funding for gender-specific disorders, inclusive drug testing, and making clinical trials more efficient.

The ideas were backed by Tatiana K , Accelerator Director at FemTech Lab , spotlighting the lack of data holding inclusive healthcare’s journey back and encouraging the support for startups that work with inclusive tech solutions.?

Anya Roy , Co-founder at Syrona Health , highlighted the role of technology in creating more representative algorithms. She emphasised that collaborating with charities and engaging with clinicians is crucial for building diversity in health tech. According to her, this is how we ensure that health solutions work for everyone.

You can find more insights from the panellist by watching the full video.?

To read more about what’s in store for women’s healthcare and femtech, check out our blog post “Women’s health: a topic that should have been explored years ago”.?

In your opinion, what?areas in women’s healthcare need urgent improvement? Share your insights in the comments!

This year Health Tech Forward has prepared a whole vertical of discussions dedicated to women’s health and inclusive healthcare. More information on the panels can be found in our agenda.

Get tickets today and join the conversation in Barcelona - healthtechforward.com