A recent survey of 10,000 Australian women showed that a third suffered depression or anxiety, 4 out of 10 felt lonely (which we know impacts long term physical health) and half perceive themselves overweight.
These women surveyed wanted more information on anxiety, healthy nutrition, weight management, osteoporosis and bladder health. They wanted to access information via websites, face-to-face contact, fact sheets and social media.
Common health conditions included anaemia, mental illness, obesity and arthritis when older.
Our busy lives may reflect a shift in the attitude towards families – two-thirds of women aged 18-35 would like to have kids and a fifth of this group would consider freezing eggs to do this later in life. A fifth of women aged 36-50 would still like to have kids, although a fifth of women have never tried to get pregnant.
In terms of healthcare, a third of women surveyed said they didn’t have enough time to attend healthcare appointments, and just under a fifth reported they couldn’t afford to.
Whilst we have made significant gains in women’s health over the years (such as cervical cancer screening and vaccination, reduced smoking and improved breast cancer survival), we still have some work to do to support women to be healthy in mind and body.
A range of services at Osana can help, including awesome female GPs, relaxation therapy, mediation and mindfulness sessions, clinical psychologists and health coaching.
References:
- https://jeanhailes.org.au/news/national-womens-health-survey-launch
- https://jeanhailes.org.au/contents/documents/News/2019_Womens_Health_Survey_Full_Report.pdf