Female-specific health
Many women suffer from misunderstood symptoms, are misdiagnosed and have untreated conditions. With the knowledge programme Female-specific Healthcare, we want to improve women’s health by increasing knowledge and by giving this area more attention.
Background
In December 2023, the report entitled ‘Societal acceptance of female-specific conditions’ (in Dutch) was presented to the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS). This report clearly stated that due to a knowledge deficit, insufficient attention, a lack of information provision and cooperation, many women experience symptoms that are misdiagnosed or misunderstood. For this group, the time until the right diagnosis is also long and conditions can go untreated. This greatly impacts women’s quality of life, but it also has a significant social and societal impact due to, for example, a higher degree of absenteeism and reduced labour participation. This was the reason for the minister to make funds available for the Female-specific Healthcare knowledge programme.
Objective
The Female-specific Healthcare knowledge programme aims to draw more attention to and develop more knowledge of female-specific conditions and female-specific somatic health problems. The programme also aims to improve the diagnostics and treatment of these conditions. The goal is to ensure that women receive the help they need sooner and get appropriate care for female-specific health issues.
About this programme
In order to achieve the objectives of the programme, the programme focuses on knowledge development for both gynaecological conditions and female-specific issues relating to other somatic conditions. It is also necessary to work on cooperation, infrastructure, network creation and the application of knowledge in healthcare practice and education, as well as raising awareness of the issues.
As a result, the programme is centred on three programme lines:
Programme line 1: Knowledge development of gynaecological conditions
New knowledge development aimed at three conditions identified in the report entitled ‘Societal acceptance of female-specific conditions’:
- pelvic floor issues
- cycle disorders and cycle-related stomach pain
- hormone-related disorders
Research funded in this programme line must be aligned with the scientific agenda created for these themes.
Programme line 2: Knowledge development of female-specific problems in non-gynaecological somatic specialisms
New knowledge development aimed at 1) conditions that primarily occur in women and have not received enough attention in research until now and 2) can lead to time-consuming efforts before a diagnosis is made for women, because there are often symptoms that go unexplained or are misunderstood for long periods of time. This programme line focuses on conditions such as migraines and auto-immune disorders.
Programme line 3: Network creation and infrastructure, implementation and awareness
Promoting cooperation and knowledge exchange specifically in the area of female-specific healthcare. For this purpose, the creation of a nationwide multidisciplinary collaboration is encouraged. This network will consist of medical professionals, healthcare professionals, patients and patient associations, and other relevant organisations such as health insurers and employers. Within the network, a platform will also be developed on which reliable information about female-specific healthcare will be made available. The platform will also serve to promote the use, further sharing and implementation of new and recently-developed knowledge, approaches and interventions.
The knowledge programme is expected to run from 2024 through 2030, with a total available budget of €15 million euros. In the course of the programme, various funding rounds will take place, suitable for the three programme lines mentioned above. Cooperation will also actively be sought with subsidy programmes within and outside of ZonMw in order to create as much impact as possible.
Erasmus Summer Programme
Each year, the Erasmus Summer Programme offers hundreds of students, researchers and professionals from the healthcare sector the opportunity to boost their scientific careers. The Gender and Health course, coordinated by Erasmus MC, offers participants the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the latest knowledge on the influence of sex and gender on men’s and women’s health during various life stages through lectures by a variety of Dutch and international speakers.
The Gender in Research workshops are coordinated by ZonMw and focus on improving the skills of new researchers in conducting health research from a sex and gender perspective.
