Improving Women's Access to Women Sensitive Health Practitioners and Services
Contents:There is a health workforce shortage that is impacting on the whole of the health system and consumers, however, there are specific and severe impacts for women and, in particular, for women who experience socio-economic disadvantage. Of concern is access to (bulk-billing, female) GPs, qualified women’s health nurses and the range of health providers needed by marginalised women with comorbidity issues and other complex needs.
Gender can influence the way in which health practitioners provide their services, how effective this is, and the degree to which they meet the needs of consumers. WCHM considers gender sensitive health practitioners to be those who have qualifications in women’s health and/or are trained to understand and consider the impact of gender on health and wellbeing. These practitioners are also aware of the impact that culture may have on women’s health and wellbeing. Through literature reviews and consultation with women in the ACT, WCHM has developed a view about the principles and characteristics of gender sensitive health service delivery.
Read the WCHM Position Paper on Gender Sensitive Health Service Delivery
Read the WCHM Position Paper on Gender Sensitive Mental Health Service Delivery
- Identify the health and wellbeing needs of women that are not fully understood or are unmet or inadequately responded to by current policy and service response
- Use this evidence to inform practice and influence policy over time
By focussing on improving women’s access to women-sensitive health practitioners and services WCHM hopes to help develop a stronger evidence base around barriers to and women’s experiences of gender sensitivity as well as a more gender sensitive workforce.
WCHM works to achieve these outcomes by:- Consulting ACT women on their access to health care practitioners
- Collecting evidence about access barriers, preferences, needs and experiences about women sensitive health practitioners with a focus on ACT populations of women who are most disadvantaged
- Collecting evidence of women’s experience of mental health issues, analysing them and using them to inform and influence the design of mental health system responses
- Advocating to promote women-sensitive practice for health professionals and services
- Advocating for improved training on gender sensitivity for health professionals and services
Current WCHM Projects
Gender Sensitive Training for Medical School Students
Over the past year WCHM has been working with two students from the Australian National University Medical School (ANUMS) on research projects aiming to either: measure the effectiveness of storytelling as a means of teaching principles of gender sensitive health service delivery to first-year medical school students, or, measuring the level of awareness of gender sensitive health service delivery principles in fourth-year medical school students before and after they undertake the Women’s Health unit.
A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Patient-Led Gender Awareness Intervention for Medical Students
The first project involved the creation of an audio-visual resource that features three women telling their story about a consultation with a medical doctor who demonstrated gender sensitivity or gender insensitivity. As they relay their story, the women reflect on the ramifications of the experience for them and highlight the simple things that the doctors did that worked or that they could do differently to be more effective in providing better experiences for women of health services.
The project was a randomised controlled trial, with the DVD played for one group of ANUMS first year medical school students and an evidence-based lecture addressing the same educational points delivered to a second group. Changes in gender awareness were measured using the Nijmegen Gender Awareness in Medicine Scale.
Twenty-two students participated. This study showed that either a patient-led teaching intervention or an evidence-based lecture was effective in increasing medical student gender awareness after the learning session. There was a positive impact on gender sensitivity for both interventions, with no significant difference between the two, however, female students learnt more from the DVD compared with male students who learnt more from the lecture. Although both educational interventions resulted in immediate changes in gender awareness, the study sample was too small to allow conclusions to be drawn about the relative merits of either educational intervention.
WCHM is very pleased with the audio-visual resource and will continue to seek out opportunities to use it to advocate for improved gender sensitivity in the delivery of health services. WCHM will also continue to work with the ANUMS to identify ways to increase gender awareness through medical school curriculum.
A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Patient-led Gender Awareness Intervention (346 KB)
A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Patient-led Gender Awareness Intervention (333 KB)
Gender awareness in a medical curriculum: surveying final year students undertaking a Women’s Health rotation The second project set out to evaluate the effect that the Women’s Health (WH) rotation at the ANUMS has on final year students’ level of gender awareness.
Final year students undertaking the eight week WH rotation between February and July 2011 (n=30) completed the previously validated Nijmegen Gender Awareness in Medicine Scale survey following one week of classroom teaching, and at the completion of the rotation. Responses were then compared to students who had not undertaken this rotation (n=33).
There was a significant difference in gender sensitivity between the students who received one week of gender focused teaching when compared to those who did not (p<0.05). At the completion of the rotation, however, this significant difference was no longer present when gender differences between groups were controlled for.
The study concluded that following a teaching program focused on WH, students had a higher level of gender sensitivity when compared to those who do not receive WH teaching. Seven weeks later, however, there was no significant difference between the groups when gender differences were taken into account. Therefore students who undertake the WH rotation may not maintain higher levels of gender sensitivity than those who do not undertake the rotation.
Gender Awareness in a Medical Curriculum (210 KB)
Gender Awareness in a Medical Curriculum (313 KB)
Influencing the mental health service system’s response to women
WCHM advocates for women sensitive responses in the mental health system through representation on committees and submissions to consultations.
WCHM works closely with the three ACT mental health community sector peak bodies—the ACT Mental Health Consumer Network, the Mental Health Community Coalition of the ACT and Carers ACT—to ensure inter-sectoral collaboration and co-ordination in the planning, provision and evaluation of women’s mental health services and programs. The focus is on developing, improving and maintaining a full range of women friendly mental health services, to assist women with mental health issues to voice their issues and facilitate their participation in decision-making on health policy, and to ensure that women’s mental health issues are raised in existing organisations and networks, and in current and future government processes.
In addition, WCHM is a member of ACT Health’s Mental Health Promotion, Prevention and Early Intervention Implementation and Evaluation Group 2009–2014, and of the Adult Secure Mental Health Inpatient Unit Executive Reference Group.
WCHM has also provided input to relevant ACT consultations including a submission to the Review of the ACT Mental Health (Treatment and Care) Act 1994; a submission to the ACT Comorbidity Strategy; a submission to the ACT Carers Charter; and submissions to the ACT Preliminary Model of Care for the Adolescent and Young Adult Mental Health Inpatient Unit (AYAMHIU) and the ACT Secure Adult Mental Health Inpatient Unit (SAMHIU).
Research Report: Sudanese Women in the ACT
The WCHM report, “Navigating a whole new world: Access to health care and utilisation of health services by Southern Sudanese women in the ACT”, identified the experiences and specific issues and barriers for Sudanese refugee women which limited their access to health care, as well as their understanding of the complexities of Australia’s health care system.
This research helped WCHM to understand the nature of the challenges and issues southern Sudanese women face when seeking health care and helped propose health care, service delivery and policy solutions that will respect the southern Sudanese women’s values and improve their access to health care.
This report will be published soon. If you would like more information about this project, please contact WCHM by emailing ed@wchm.org.au or phoning (02) 62902166.
Cultural Awareness Training - New and emerging communities
Evidence and stories were collected from Southern Sudanese and Mon Burmese women, which were used to develop and deliver cultural awareness training to ACT services and government staff. The training used the lived experiences of the women, with a specific focus on gender and cultural needs, in order to assist services to better deliver culturally sensitive services to these communities and to work more effectively with them to improve access to better health and wellbeing.
The content of the training is currently being developed into an online resource for services.
Other Research and Reports
“I want treatment... with respect”
Women want more time and respect from health care services, not more expensive technology. This is the key finding in a new survey of the health care experiences of more than 750 Australian women. The findings are detailed in this report by Equality Rights Alliance: “I want treatment... with respect” (Lien Le).
Read more here: http://www.equalityrightsalliance.org.au/news/women-want-more-respect-health-care-system