Spotlight on women's health

Published: 22/7/2022
By Denplan

Traditionally whispered about in secretive huddles, women’s health is slowly but surely being brought out from the shadows. Simplyhealth has been working to remove the stigma and open up the conversation to include women and men of all ages, sharing information on issues such as fertility, pregnancy and menopause and highlighting when and where to seek help.

In the UK, over 76% of those working in dentistry are women¹, so it’s vital that we understand and work out ways to support our colleagues through what can be very challenging phases of their lives, when their physical and mental wellbeing may be suffering.

Simplyhealth’s Women’s Health campaign encompasses a number of initiatives, including encouraging a million ‘comfortable conversations’ on all aspects of women’s health, at all stages of life. The hope is that removing taboos will lead to earlier diagnosis where appropriate and therefore more successful treatments and better outcomes. If we don’t talk about it, we can’t change it. This mutual philosophy has led to a partnership with the Lady Garden Foundation, a charity focused on improving gynaecological health.

Another aspect of the campaign has been the development of a guide to women’s health on the Simplyhealth website. It’s a wide-ranging resource that’s continually evolving and covers subjects such as pelvic health, women’s health screenings, menstruation, pregnancy and more.

While particularly useful for women themselves to better understand what may be happening to their own bodies at a particular time in their lives, the guide is also incredibly valuable for male partners, family members, colleagues and friends to become more informed about women’s health.

Menopause

The menopause is, at last, becoming part of our national conversation, thanks to some high-profile names making a point of highlighting their own experiences.

Television presenter Davina McCall’s Channel 4 documentary, ‘Sex, Myths and Menopause’ aired last year to great acclaim. The Menopause Charity, backed by Ms McCall and fellow presenter Lorraine Kelly, was founded to highlight the main symptoms and encourage women to seek help. One of the founders, Dr Louise Newson, recently joined the Government’s UK Menopause Taskforce, set up to tackle a range of policy issues surrounding menopause, not least to ensure better access to treatment and to address the impact on menopausal women at work.

Earlier this year, an article in the British Dental Journal (BDJ), ‘It’s time to talk about the M word’² revealed that 35% of dental care professionals and 43% of dentists are currently within the age range that can be affected by the menopause, a significant proportion of the dental workforce.

Policy recommendations

Following publication of the BDJ study, The British Association of Dental Nurses (BADN) launched a menopause policy³ in March that that includes recommendations on creating a supportive environment in the workplace, such as having a menopause champion that staff can speak to, access to healthcare or counselling and consideration of a flexible working policy or variable start times to take account of the disturbed sleep experienced by many women.

Other measures might include simple things such as providing an electric fan or allowing time to rest or freshen up during the working day, ensuring fresh drinking water is always accessible and that women are made to feel comfortable enough to talk to their managers about their symptoms and needs.

An understanding, empathetic employer, prepared to put in place reasonable mitigations wherever possible to support women undergoing a difficult phase in their lives, is likely to improve morale and in turn, help to retain the valuable, experienced staff who contribute so much to patient care.

To find out more about our women’s health campaign, visit www.simplyhealth.co.uk/healthy-living/womens-health

References

1 General Dental Council. Registration report - March 2020. Available at: www.gdc-uk.org/docs/default-source/registration-reports/registration-report---march-2020.pdf?sfvrsn=6c410872_2

2 Bell J, Garlick D, Stevens C. It’s time to talk about the M word. Br Dent J 2022:

232;15–17. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-021-3817-y

3 www.badn.org.uk/common/Uploaded%20 files/02447-BADN%20Booklet-A5-Menopause-Advice.pdf

4 Lady Garden Foundation Survey, 2014.