THE DIRECTOR OF the European Institute of Women’s Health knows what it takes to change a healthcare system to make it equitable and accessible; she just needs every stakeholder – especially policymakers – to participate, to listen… and to want change.

“When you are talking about changing a health system, you are talking a multi-level approach, multiple expertise as well,” Director Peggy Maguire told Journal Media Managing Editor Susan Daly in a live fireside chat this week.

“You have to look at the clinicians, you have to look at the policy-makers, the NGOs; you have to involve everybody in creating this critical mass and understanding so that change can be made.

“But you also need political will, as well. If you haven’t got the political will, nothing will ever change.”

Launching in 1996, the Institute’s work over the past quarter of a century has spanned the worlds of clinical research, public health communication and EU-wide collaboration, all with the objective of promoting understanding and better management of women’s specific health and wellness needs, improving health outcomes for all in turn.

Watch our video of the event – with added questions from The Good Information Project audience – to discover the new research leading to better treatment of women and communication among health practitioners of the approach needed to give women the best possible results from the healthcare system.

The conversation ranges from the historic absence of women and older people in clinical trials to campaigns to tailored recognition of women’s symptoms in cardiovascular disease to a woman’s right to information and voice in life stages from pregnancy to pain management to the menopause and beyond.

“What women really want is certainty,” says Maguire, “They want certainty that the information they are getting is the correct information, they want certainty in accessing appropriate treatment and care.”

This work is also co-funded by Journal Media and a grant programme from the European Parliament. Any opinions or conclusions expressed in this work are the author’s own. The European Parliament has no involvement in nor responsibility for the editorial content published by the project. For more information, see here. 

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