31 May 2011

What health services do Canberra women want?

| emd
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womens health

Have you ever wished you didn’t have to wait a week to get a GP appointment? Wondered where to go for help after a sexual assault? Wanted a private midwife closer than a one hour drive from Canberra? Know what services the women’s health centre provides?

Australia’s largest network of organisations advocating for women’s equality is running a survey to identify gaps in Australian women’s health services. This is an opportunity for Canberra women to have their say on what health services they want, or what they’d like to change about the services already here.

The survey is available online at www.equalityrightsalliance.org.au until Friday 24 June 2011. Printable surveys are also available at the website, and are being distributed through community organisations around Australia.

Equality Rights Alliance will publish the results of the survey, including a map of gaps in Australian women’s health services, in early July 2011.

The survey includes questions about access to a wide range of services, including GPs and hospitals, sexual health clinics, private midwives, mental health services, and breastfeeding counsellors. Women can give their views on what needs to change if they are not happy with services in their local community, and can identify services that are needed. The results will also identify areas of need for women with disability, who do not speak English as their first language, have family care responsibilities, and more.

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bethybobs said :

Women specific health issues are perhaps a bit more complicated than mens. We can all get cancer, but last time I checked we were the only who could get pregnant.

Last time I checked, most medical staff pretty much understood pregnancy and most hospitals are fairly well equipped to deal with the pregnancy through its various stages. This survey is about areas of healthcare that are lacking, and while some might say that some aspects of womens health care might need a bit of tweaking it doesnt take a rocket scientist to see that mens healthcare in general is lacking, not the least of which because of the stigma associated with mens health issues.

indigoid said :

s-s-a said :

Maybe the gaps in women’s health services are availability of a service to nag the men in our lives into going to the doctor before they are at death’s door?? … Oh, and a cure for the dreaded man flu!!

There’s no need to start denigrating men as soon as they ask reasonable questions. Instead, you could try answering the questions. I, for one, was wondering some of the same things.

And what is this “dreaded man flu” anyway? I’ve seen various references to it in the media but never actually witnessed it myself. Does it actually exist?

Given a choice between snuffling sneezing colleagues spreading their germs around (and distracting everyone nearby) and a quiet office, I’ll take the latter every time. Productivity really won’t suffer that much.

I just want to confirm that man flu definitely exists. That is all.

I just want access to a female doctor, which thankfully are easily available at the university medical centre and I never had to wait more than a week to see one. I just wonder if that will still be as convenient when I am out of the university system.
Seems to me there is lots being dont on prostate cancer, I remembe the ads on tv and people seem aware. Women specific health issues are perhaps a bit more complicated than mens. We can all get cancer, but last time I checked we were the only who could get pregnant.

Maybe some who are well trained, who know their business, when you don’t have to go to Sydney, as some here are incompetent, and finally get diagnosed.

s-s-a said :

Maybe the gaps in women’s health services are availability of a service to nag the men in our lives into going to the doctor before they are at death’s door?? … Oh, and a cure for the dreaded man flu!!

There’s no need to start denigrating men as soon as they ask reasonable questions. Instead, you could try answering the questions. I, for one, was wondering some of the same things.

And what is this “dreaded man flu” anyway? I’ve seen various references to it in the media but never actually witnessed it myself. Does it actually exist?

Given a choice between snuffling sneezing colleagues spreading their germs around (and distracting everyone nearby) and a quiet office, I’ll take the latter every time. Productivity really won’t suffer that much.

What health care services do ACT women want?

Exactly the same as ACT men want: affordable access to a full range of high-quality comprehensive health care services unencumbered by superstition.

Have I missed anything?

Maybe the gaps in women’s health services are availability of a service to nag the men in our lives into going to the doctor before they are at death’s door?? … Oh, and a cure for the dreaded man flu!!

Out of interest, will the ‘equality rights alliance’ be conducting a similar survey of mens health issues?
(in the name of equal rights, of course)

In this day and age, womens health services seem to be fairly well covered, and only need a bit of tweaking to suit community demands. Mens health services seem relatively non-existant by comparison. Compare the resources expended on the cervical cancer and pap smear awareness campaigns compared to the resources expended on prostate cancer awareness.

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