Women's Health | Devices for Dignity

Patient and Care-partners Needs

Living longer on average than men, UK women spend a greater proportion of their lives in ill-health
Insufficient focus has been placed on women-specific issues and there is a knowledge gap about how conditions that affect both sexes impact women differently
With women representing over 50% of the population, many start-ups are now innovating specifically in areas such as fertility, pelvic floor health and menopause

Address the complex needs of women across their life-course, relating to sexual health, pregnancy, incontinence, and supporting the Femtech industry in understanding unmet needs
Identify and address known sex-specific inequalities in outcomes of non-communicable diseases, promoting the integration of gender as a social determinant of health in Healthlech innovation
Support innovative co-design of technologies to improve women's holistic wellbeing throughout their life-course and mind-body axis
We aim to improve the pregnancy experience and outcomes of women living with iLTC by collaborating with them to create remote monitoring and diagnostic tools, working with community partners, including "Fivexmore" to develop digital strategies that address the needs of underserved groups with high morbidity and mortality rates

Co-design treatments, diagnostics services and optimise care across pregnancy, fertility, menopause, and continence and infection
We will work with the Mental Health Theme to co-design digital interventions to assess and support women with mental health difficulties
PPIE has clearly highlighted that some women from underserved communities are digitally excluded, though may have access through their partners or other community members. We will work with these women, their communities and stakeholders to find solutions that are practical and accessible
Working with the Diabetes Theme, we will co-develop culturally congruous home/community monitoring strategies with women who are most likely to benefit from interventions to reduce future complications
Working with companies and PPIE/EDI networks we will develop a platform to test complex interventions to prevent onset of cardiovascular disease in women