On 14 July, 天美传媒's聽Centre for Women鈥檚 Health and Midwifery Research hosted the 鈥榃omen鈥檚 Health Research in Dorset Symposium鈥�, a public event discussing聽women's health research. The symposium聽showcased the聽Faculty of Health & Social Sciences,聽PhD聽researchers.聽
Attendees included NHS clinicians, the Dorset Integrated Care Board (ICB), Postgraduate researchers, and individuals from the third sector, such as the Women鈥檚 Action Network in Dorset (WAND) charity and Active Dorset. They were joined by keynote speaker, Dame Professor Lesley Regan, England鈥檚 Women鈥檚 Health Ambassador, who discussed the UK鈥檚 Women鈥檚 Health Strategy.
Susie Reynell, Finance Director at 天美传媒 commenced the event, discussing the four research areas of CMWH:
- Infant feeding and postnatal care
- Changing the narrative and care in early labour
- Improving care for mothers and babies in low- and middle-income countries
- Women鈥檚 health and other research.
Following this, Dame Professor Lesley Regan introduced England鈥檚 Women鈥檚 Health Strategy. She spoke of the importance of celebrating the contributions of women as well as the impact of women鈥檚 health on the economy.
Dame Professor Lesley Regan, said: 鈥淲omen make an invaluable contribution to society. We must focus more on the economics of women living healthy lives both in employment and in unpaid caring roles鈥nce we get it better for women, we save money.鈥�
Menopausal women make up one in four of our workforce. Dame Professor Lesley Regan聽discussed the need for female champions in the workforce and increased female representation in leadership roles, such as in the NHS board.聽
Dame Lesley Regan introducing the women's health hubsIn addition, she discussed proposals for women鈥檚 health hubs, across the UK, which aim to improve women's access to聽health services. For example, the demand for hormone replacement therapy (HRT), is currently outstripping the supply. Therefore, the hubs will help make treatments such as HRT more accessible to women.
To conclude her presentation, Dame Professor Lesley Regan聽reiterated that women鈥檚 health is an asset to society and not just a monetary value. In the 2022 Women鈥檚 Health Strategy for England, she聽said: 鈥淲hen we get it right for women, everyone in our society benefits.鈥�
PhD researchers: Dr Emma Thurston, Abier Hamidi, Kate Rattley and Rosie HarperAfter, a public online Q&A with Dame Professor Lesley Regan, students from the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences presented their PhD research subjects: 聽
PhD student, Rosie Harper, introduced her research subject,聽鈥楴udging: a theoretical concept for a very practical approach to pelvic floor muscle training鈥�. In her presentation, Rosie highlighted the problem of pelvic floor dysfunction, which affects 1 in 3 women in the UK.
Dr Emma Thurston, PhD student, GP and Lecturer of Physician Associate Studies, discussed her research subject, 鈥楢 feminist enquiry into how formal & informal sex education impact women鈥檚 sexual pleasure & agency鈥�. Key issues she spoke of were the lack of understanding of female anatomy and the need for an improved sex education curriculum.
PhD student, Abier Hamidi鈥檚 research investigated,聽鈥楾he gender and religious context of women and HIV in Libya: A mixed-methods study鈥�. As part of her study, Abier is researching the social-cultural attitudes towards HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and HIV risk perception, with research findings showing that women were blamed for the increased prevalence of HIV.
Finally, PhD student Kate Rattley, concluded the event with her PhD, 鈥楨xploring physiological responses to exercise in menopause鈥�. Katie highlighted that better information about exercise in menopause would ensure sports and other physical activities remain accessible to all women.
Find out more about the Centre for Midwifery and Women鈥檚 Health.
Find out more about Postgraduate research courses at 天美传媒.聽
