Progress Activated and Fractures Identified in
Alberta Women’s Health Foundation’s Inaugural Year
In its inaugural year the Alberta Women’s Health Foundation began work on its mission to effect change and close the gap on the disparities in women’s health and womens’ health research. The first significant milestone in the Foundation’s pursuit came in the form of its first thought leadership report, “Finding the Fractures: The Pandemic, Women’s Health Disparities, and the Path to Equity.”
In its inaugural year the Alberta Women’s Health Foundation began work on its mission to effect change and close the gap on the disparities in women’s health and womens’ health research. The first significant milestone in the Foundation’s pursuit came in the form of its first thought leadership report, “Finding the Fractures: The Pandemic, Women’s Health Disparities, and the Path to Equity.”
The province-wide survey was created to measure the pandemic’s impact in the following areas: work-life, physical health, mental health, stress, and family dynamics.
Knowing anecdotally that the pandemic has disproportionately affected women, we launched the survey that secured responses from over 1,650 Albertans sharing their feedback about their specific experiences and challenges.
Our Finding the Fractures report brings together data and evidence of the current disparities in women’s health, uncovers stories of women’s worsening mental and physical health, and details their many challenges juggling medical appointments, childcare, and work commitments.
Inequities in women’s health have existed for generations, and our foundation’s report reveals COVID-19 has exacerbated the issue.
In our survey of 1,657 Albertans, nearly three-quarters of whom identified as women, some of the staggering results we found are:
- 63% reported pandemic stress was affecting their physical health in a negative way.
- 11% of women experienced thoughts of harming themselves.
- While women are in poorer health, they’re also facing barriers to the care they need. Due to COVID-19, many women are reporting that their medical appointments have been postponed or cancelled by a medical provider.
- Women are taking on the burden of responsibilities at home. Prior to the pandemic, Alberta women took on the brunt of unpaid labour, logging double the hours of their male counterparts. With school and daycare closures throughout the pandemic, they have taken on additional child and elder care responsibilities.
These findings are just the beginning of the realities facing Albertan women identified within the report.
We did not grasp the true extent of the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on our province’s women, so we sought to understand and asked.
With this new understanding, we intend to improve the health and lives of women, as we know and understand it is not only good for women but good for community health, public health, and for our country’s economy.
