Unmet need

WCHM understands that the lived experience and the biology of women and men are different, so improving health and wellbeing outcomes for women can only be achieved through responses that are not gender neutral.

So WCHM is committed to identifying the health and wellbeing needs of women that are not fully understood, or are unmet, or which are inadequately responded to by current policy and service responses in the ACT. We build the evidence through the collection and collation of relevant research, and adding to this the voices of women and their lived experience in order to inform practice and to influence policy over time.

WCHM has prioritised three areas of unmet or inadequately met need in the ACT to focus on:

• Women’s access to women-sensitive health practitioners - developing a more detailed picture of the preferences and needs of ACT women and of the access issues faced by them, particularly ACT populations of women who are most disadvantaged;
• Mental health service system’s response to women - collating the research around best practice service responses to women experiencing mental health issues and using that evidence to inform advocacy initiatives and policy input; and
• Capacity building and organisational support for small non-government organisations and peer-led support groups that are involved in addressing issues related to the health and wellbeing of women – focusing on those groups that aim to address marginalisation and promote social inclusion.