Desi Baramova, Programme Coordinator at Wessex Health Partners (WHP), spoke at NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight's “Empowering Women’s Health” event
The panel discussed, “The secret to sustainability and the women’s health programme.” Desi has recently undertaken a wide-ranging report into women and girls' health research in the Wessex region. This experience shaped her responses:
What does women’s health mean to you?
To me, women’s health means recognising women have unique challenges and health needs, and when we say something is wrong, something is wrong, and we should be trusted. A lot of the time women are treated as if they are exaggerating or being dramatic, when that’s not the case.
The healthcare system needs to acknowledge there are certain things which need to be set up for women. 51% of the population is made up of women, and yet women’s healthcare has always been neglected. We should focus on conditions which are specific to women, such as fertility and menopause.
What is the value of partnership working?
We at Wessex Health Partners are all about partnership, it’s in our core. The report we worked on into women and girl’s health research aimed to find out what researchers have been working on and how can that best support the region's two ICBs and the women’s health hubs. It was fascinating to uncover everything that’s happening in the region - there's so much exciting, varied work.
We spoke to more than 50 researchers. We were able to take all that knowledge back to the ICBs and ask if there are other ways researchers can help with clinical priorities, providing more of an evidence base. Ever since , we’ve been working collaboratively and connecting people.
What are the challenges we face moving forwards with the women’s health agenda?
In writing our report into women’s health research, we asked researchers what challenges they faced. One of the big ones is culture, and lack of recognition of the importance of research into women’s health. Those we spoke to also told us they lacked researcher time and sometimes failed to secure funding, disseminate their findings, and feed these into policy making.
During the COVID-19 pandemic a lot of research into women’s health was stopped, and since then we’ve never returned to pre-pandemic levels. Another big challenge is lack of diversity in research participation, and also collaborating – knowing who to reach out to, who else is working in this area.
What are your hopes for the future?
It’s really important to continue to work together, in partnership. We’ve achieved so much in the last two years and if we continue like this, we can achieve so much more. We want more opportunities to connect, and we’re working on bringing people together at an event in May to showcase work in the region and give people networking opportunities.
Researchers give women a voice, which helps with the design of services - this is so important. Especially women from minoritised groups, who have not been heard before. We really need to listen to what they have to say.
Read the report: Research in the Wessex Region in relation to women and girls' health and care needs
To find out more please email desi.baramova@wessexhp.org.uk
Also on the panel:
Claire Lambon, CEO, Stop Domestic Abuse
Lynne Ruddick, Associate Director for Innovation Adoption, at Health Innovation Wessex
Hannah Byrne, Public Health Principal, Portsmouth City Council