Sago on the Hidden Truths of Women’s Health Research: Confronting Misconceptions
By Space Coast Daily // August 10, 2024
Women’s health can encompass everything from family planning, endometriosis, and polycystic ovary syndrome to migraines, which affect women three times more often than men.
Despite the National Institutes of Health’s annual budget exceeding $45 billion, only 10.8% goes to women’s health research, leaving a vast gap that should be filled with more direct attention from researchers to improve the quality of care, quality of life, and long-term outcomes.
To highlight this issue, Sago‘s research team held an awareness webinar discussing Americans’ misconceptions about women’s health, including its definition, most impactful issues, and necessary improvements. The team surveyed over 1,500 U.S. adults about topics typically associated with women’s health needs, revealing an apparent disconnect between perception and reality.
When asked which cancer most frequently affects women, 72% of respondents said breast cancer, with ovarian cancer coming in second. However, neither answer was correct. Skin cancer is actually the most common type for both women and men, with 20% of Americans developing some form before age 70. Webinar presenter Shannon Childs, Sago EVP, of client solutions and health care noted, “The reality and perception is very different,” explaining that these results likely perpetuate biases in research funding.
Sago’s Research Explores Misconceptions
The Sago research team also explored perceived disparities about the prevalence of debilitating health conditions in men versus women. Over 25% of respondents believed women spent more of their lives dealing with poor health compared to men. Data from the World Economic Forum and the McKinsey Health Institute corroborated this, noting that women spend 25% more of their lives dealing with debilitating health conditions. These conditions span various diseases, including arthritis, diabetes, and COPD. Yet research specific to women’s health and treatment in these areas lags well behind that of men.
Sago’s data revealed the need for more conversation and focus on women’s health issues to clarify facts and fiction for everyone, from health care professionals to consumers. Childs stated, “There can be a pretty big gap on perception versus reality on a lot of these topics related to women, women’s health specifically.” Many of these misconceptions stem from a lack of communication around topics deemed too sensitive for discussion.
Advocates and researchers are working to break down these barriers by demonstrating discrepancies and opening the way for conversations. Meghan Rivera, a webinar panelist and president of the U.S. market for Organon, shared her approach to normalizing these exchanges: “To break down misperceptions, I think by sharing experience, you find so many people who maybe have shared something or that you have something in common with. And I think the more we can get comfortable with having those conversations, the less taboo they become. We can’t advocate for ourselves if we’re constantly shying away from having conversations that don’t feel good to have.”
