Thrive, a leading women’s health communications agency, publishes "Changing the narrative" white paper

Nearly half of women say not being taken seriously by health professionals is a key issue when accessing healthcare, according to a survey released today by leading women’s health communications agency Thrive.

And two-thirds of women in the survey said their health or wellbeing has been negatively impacted by poor language or tone from either online advice or from a medical professional.

Meanwhile more than three-quarters want brands to provide more health information, representing huge opportunities for brands to advocate for women. These opportunities are explored in detail in Thrive’s Changing the narrative white paper.

The survey comes at a time when the gender health gap is gaining wider recognition, following the appointment of Maria Caulfield, the UK’s first minister for women's health, the launch of Scotland’s Women’s Health Plan and the Wellbeing for Women’s Menopause Workplace Pledge. In 2021, Organon also became the first dedicated female pharma company.

Thrive ran the survey to delve further into the personal impact of the gap, knowing that female conditions and their impact on women’s health is often undiagnosed and overlooked. Less is known about conditions that only affect women and women are also often more likely to be misdiagnosed than men. Misdiagnosis is particularly serious when it comes to heart conditions with women more likely to die of a heart attack than men.

More than 1,000 women in the UK were asked to pick the three main issues in accessing healthcare from a list of 12 options. The most picked option, chosen by more than 44pc of women was ‘not being taken seriously by healthcare professionals’. This was closely followed by a ‘lack of understanding of women's lives and experiences’ and a ‘lack of understanding of female bodies’, pointing again to the issues around the gender health gap.

In the survey, 77pc of women wanted to see more health information from brands. But they said it needs to be direct, expert-led, empathetic, and free from stereotypes.

Elsewhere, when asked to pick what advice they’d most want to give their younger selves out of a series of options, looking after their mental health came out top, followed by 'don't be embarrassed about your body'.

Caitlin Dalton, Thrive’s Innovation Director, said: “Women’s health is at a critical juncture. There have been some wider societal changes with the UK’s First Minister for Women’s Health and the appointment of Dame Lesley Regan as the Government’s Women’s Health Ambassador. But while the often-slow political change is happening, technology is perfectly positioned to create grass roots change for women.”

 “Our survey has shown that women feel they don’t have a voice, that their voice isn’t taken seriously. Technology can provide women with the information they need and the empowerment to make their voices heard. From generational differences in health communications, to how language and tone matter in engagement levels, the findings in our survey act as a blueprint to help companies play their part in closing the gender health gap.”

Thrive’s Changing the narrative white paper reveals key insights and opportunities for brands to leverage content and create empowering connections with women. You can download it here.

You can also connect with the agency on LinkedIn and, if you would like to discuss how they can help with your health communications, get in touch at info@thriveagency.uk