Call for evidence outcome

Written submission guidance

Updated 13 April 2022

Applies to England

Overview

We welcome written submissions from individuals or organisations who have expertise in women’s health, such as researchers and third-sector organisations.

Written submissions:

• can include the contribution of data, research and other reports of relevance
• must be limited to 10 pages

Submit written submissions in word or PDF format here

If you cannot send your submission via the online portal, please log the issue by emailing whscallforevidence@dhsc.gov.uk. Please do not send any personal information to this email.

Due to COVID-19, we cannot accept postal submissions.

Our overarching vision for the Women’s Health Strategy is improving the health and wellbeing of women and girls in England. There is strong evidence of the need for greater focus on women’s health. This call for evidence seeks views on 6 core themes that connect different areas of women’s health across the life course.

Core themes

In order to help guide your contributions, please refer to the relevant themes below. We have outlined various aspects that we would welcome input from individuals and organisations. Please note, the guidance is not exhaustive, and we welcome further information across the 6 themes.

1. Women’s voices

In recent years, it has become clear that more could be done in terms of listening to women’s voices. Independent reports and inquiries – such as the First do no harm report – have found that too often, when women seek help for health problems, they do not always feel listened to or their concerns taken seriously. We are determined to place women’s voices at the centre of their health and care, both at the individual level of patient–clinician interactions, and at the system level.

We would appreciate contributions regarding:

• evidence on women’s voices not being listened to within the health and care system

• evidence on women’s voices not being listened to in relation to specific conditions or types of interaction (for example, presenting with symptoms or diagnosis)

• evidence of male experience or symptoms being treated as default (‘typical’) and the impact of this on women’s experience of health services and health outcomes

• evidence on the training and education provided to clinicians on sex and gender differences

• taboos and stigmas in healthcare related to gender, and the barriers to open discussion

2. Information and education on women’s health

High-quality information and education is essential for supporting women to stay healthy throughout their life, to feel confident in seeking support for a health concern, and to be empowered in making decisions about their health – for example, on treatment options for a condition. It is also essential that healthcare practitioners can access the necessary information to meet the needs of the women they provide care for.

We would appreciate contributions regarding:

• evidence on women’s awareness of health issues, including evidence on specific conditions (for example, fibroids, and on life course events – for example, pre-conception, menopause)
• evidence on healthcare practitioner’s awareness and understanding of female-specific conditions (for example, symptom recognition, diagnosis, support available and life course events)
• evidence on the barriers under-represented groups of women face when accessing information or education
• evidence on barriers to accessing information faced by specific groups or communities
• the importance of education and information as factors that enable women to feel empowered to talk about their health

3. Women’s health across the life course

Women have specific needs across the life course. A life course approach focuses on understanding women’s health and care needs across their lives, and how events at specific life stages can influence future health. A life course approach also focuses on understanding the opportunities for preventative action to support women to maintain good health and prevent or reduce the risk of ill health later in life.

We would appreciate contributions regarding:

• how the needs of healthcare services vary between different demographic characteristics (for example, ethnicity, age and evidence on inequalities in access to or experience of services)
• evidence on if or how current services do not meet women’s specific needs
• evidence on intervention points that are under-explored (for example, puberty, pre-conception, post-natal period, menopause)
• opportunities for targeted action and evidence on the potential benefits (for example, improved health outcomes, efficiency savings)
• examples of innovation in service delivery which take a life course approach or have improved women’s access to services

4. Women’s health in the workplace

There is some evidence that female-specific health conditions such as heavy menstrual bleeding, endometriosis and the menopause can affect women’s workforce participation, productivity, and outcomes. We know less about other common conditions such as common mental disorders and musculoskeletal conditions, which are more prevalent in women and can also lead to sickness absence and exit from the workforce.

We would appreciate contributions regarding:

• evidence and data on women’s workforce participation being impacted (for example, in terms of absence, productivity, leaving the workforce) by:
  • female-specific health conditions
  • other health conditions
• ways women’s workforce participation is impacted by caring responsibilities
• evidence on what kinds of workplace support are effective in supporting retention in work or return to work (for example, occupational health support, flexible working, wider awareness of conditions)
• evidence on needs of employers to be able to support women at work

5. Research, evidence and data

We have a world-class research and development system in the UK. However, we also know that women have been under-represented in research, particularly women of ethnic minorities, older women and women of child-bearing age, those with disabilities and LGBT+ women. This has implications for the health and care they receive, their options and awareness of treatments, and the support they can access afterwards.

We would appreciate contributions regarding:

• aspects of health or medical research that overlooks or neglects women’s perspectives or experiences and the consequences of this
• how research and evidence are used by healthcare professionals and/or patients

6. Impacts of COVID-19 on women’s health

While the situation with COVID-19 is ongoing and in many cases it is too soon to draw conclusions on long-term impacts, we know that COVID-19 has had significant impacts on all elements of women’s lives, including work, leisure and the way in which women access health and care services.

We would appreciate contributions regarding:

• evidence on how COVID-19 has impacted women’s health (positive and negative)
• evidence on how COVID-19 has impacted women’s health services, including innovation in service delivery

Please note, the government has recently held a 3-month consultation seeking views on whether to make permanent the current temporary measure allowing for home use of both pills for early medical abortion up to 10 weeks’ gestation. The scope of this call for evidence therefore does not extend to home use of both pills for early medical abortion up to 10 weeks’ gestation.