Women in England are being urged to help shape reproductive health policy by sharing their experiences of a range of issues.
The government’s launch of the survey comes more than a year after ministers first promised to seek women’s views on issues including periods, contraception, fertility, pregnancy and the menopause, as part of its women’s health strategy.
Findings from the exercise, to be launched on Thursday, will be used to better understand women’s reproductive health experiences over time and inform government health policy, according to the Department of Health and Social Care.
“We need to make healthcare work for women and girls – and for it to fit around their lives,” said the women’s health ambassador, Prof Dame Lesley Regan. “There’s no point bolstering services if they can’t be accessed, or the support available doesn’t work for them and meet their needs.
“That’s why we’re asking women and girls to share their experience, whether it’s about periods, menopause or endometriosis. We need your voice to shape a new system of healthcare that gives women what they need.”
The survey is open to all women in England aged between 16 and 55 and will run for six weeks from Thursday. It is being run by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
Dr Rebecca French, an associate professor of sexual and reproductive health research at LSHTM, said: “For most women, it can be nearly 40 years from their first period to menopause. Throughout this time, women should be able to make informed decisions about their own reproductive health and wellbeing, such as if and when to get pregnant and where to access appropriate support and treatment.
“Women have previously described difficulties accessing reproductive health services, for example, to get contraceptive supplies, to access fertility treatment or to obtain an appointment with a gynaecologist. Often health services are not ‘joined up’, leading to multiple visits and appointment delays.
“The women’s reproductive health survey provides an opportunity to better understand what support is needed and how these issues can best be addressed.”
Ministers vowed to tackle decades of “systemic” and “entrenched” gender health inequality last summer with pledges to launch a survey about reproductive health and introduce compulsory women’s health training for doctors, more cancer checks and “one-stop shop” hubs across the NHS.
Originally due in 2021, then rescheduled for spring 2022, the 10-year women’s health strategy was published by the government in July last year.
The minister for women’s health strategy, Maria Caulfield, said: “Women and girls deserve the best healthcare at every stage of their lives, but we simply can’t deliver that without listening to their lived experiences and concerns.
“I would encourage every woman to complete the survey on reproductive health as soon as they are able and ensure their voice is heard.”
