Women in all parts of my life are encountering similar obstacles in their health journeys. The common thread is that when we don’t advocate for ourselves and ask the right questions, we don’t get the care we need.
While volunteering as a women’s heart health advocate and immersing my public relations agency in the health innovation ecosystem, I’m constantly thinking about how to bring to light the issues—and solutions—that are all around us.
“Women are dying because we aren’t marketing life-saving therapies to them,” said Rachel Rubin, MD, a urologist and sexual medicine specialist, and assistant clinical professor in urology at Georgetown University Hospital. She made these comments in her 2-hour conversation last May with Peter Attia, MD, on his podcast The Drive. The podcast discussion helped illuminate the decades-long debate around hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Since then, the FDA removed its 20-year-plus warning label on HRT for menopause.
STORYTELLING CAN HELP
This is where storytelling can lead to real change, bringing awareness to previously misunderstood or underreported issues that can save lives.
At the very least, we need to encourage each other to find the right provider, ask the right questions, and not settle until we get the answers we need.
Professionally, the optimist in me can’t help but see opportunities to help connect these dots. Here are four immediate steps we can take:
- Education: Over the last year, I’ve heard countless stories of women dismissing seemingly minor symptoms that turned out to be the precursor to a heart attack or undiagnosed cardiovascular health issue. The message is clear: We need to empower women to listen to our bodies by giving patients and providers the platforms to share their stories. Fortunately, journalists are looking for sources to speak with every single day, and PR professionals can play matchmaker.
- Funding: Media coverage can help the next round of health innovators secure funding and support. If you share your stories and expertise with journalists and podcasts, and on social networks like LinkedIn, you can create a butterfly effect that can influence these sources of funding.
- Reach and scale: Even early-stage startups, regional providers, small practices, and nonprofits have the opportunity to get quoted in national media outlets. Every day, journalists are looking for credentialed medical experts across topics like menopause, fertility, heart health, nutrition, and mental health to comment on the stories they’re filing for trusted news sources. You can enlist the help of a PR team or respond to queries yourself, if you have the time.
- Partnerships: While there are incredibly innovative health solutions popping up around the world, the massive opportunity in women’s health—and healthcare overall—requires the whole ecosystem to take part. A PR strategy focused on increasing visibility in industry publications and at conferences can help innovators and payers form meaningful partnerships.
“Strategic partnerships between femtech and big tech, femtech and pharma, femtech and retail, and more are on the rise. These success stories illuminate a powerful way for women’s health startups to rapidly scale in both reach and credibility,” Theresa Neil, founder of Femovate and a “deep femtech” advocate told me.
Building on the momentum over the last year, I’m encouraged by the direction of women’s health conversations, and yet I still know too many women who struggle to get the help they need.
We can all play a part in amplifying these stories.
Amy Jackson is founder and CEO of TaleSplash.