Editorial Medicalfacts / Janine Budding November 5, 2023 – 10:42 PM
Saturday, May 25, 2024 is the first National Women’s Health Day. It is an initiative of the Voices for Women Foundation, which makes the voices of women with unexplained health complaints heard. The women are campaigning for gender-specific medical care. Because women in our country still die unnecessarily due to a wrong diagnosis.
Women stand up themselves
It is the first time that a day will be dedicated to women’s health in the Netherlands. And that is desperately needed, according to initiator and director of Voices for Women Mirjam Kaijer. “It is still not sufficiently known that women become ill differently than men. While 80% of all patients with unexplained health complaints are women. That’s shocking.”
Vrecognized diagnoses
On Saturday, May 25, 2024, women will make their voices heard, hand in hand with healthcare professionals, scientists, patient organizations and women’s networks. The aim of the day is to support each other, spread knowledge and promote gender-specific care. During the event there will be lectures, workshops and artists will perform. The presentation is in the hands of Bridget Maasland and Tanja Jess.
The man’s body is still the standard on which medical knowledge in the Netherlands is based. While 60% of women suffer more from side effects of medications, heart attacks in women are regularly missed, women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression or anxiety disorders and more than 75% of people with an autoimmune disease are women.
Huge knowledge gap
“We have received thousands of reports from women who have been looking for the right diagnosis for years,” says Kaijer. “There is a major knowledge gap when it comes to the health of women’s bodies. Doctors also encounter this. They are held responsible for this while the system needs to be improved. In addition to many patients, doctors are also increasingly joining our foundation.”
Annual event
National Women’s Health Day will become an annual, unifying event. “It is necessary and possibly the beginning of an important change in women’s medicine,” says Mirjam Kaijer. “We will continue until every woman receives the right medical care.”
For more information about National Women’s Health Day, visit: https://voicesforwomen.nl
Editorial Medicalfacts / Janine Budding
I have specialized in interactive news for healthcare providers, so that healthcare providers are aware of news that may be relevant to them every day. Both lay news and news specifically for healthcare providers and prescribers. Social Media, Women’s Health, Patient advocacy, patient empowerment, personalized medicine & Healthcare 2.0 and the social domain are key points for me to pay extra attention to.
I studied physiotherapy and health care business administration. I am also a registered independent client supporter and informal care broker. I have a lot of experience in various positions in healthcare, the social domain and the medical and pharmaceutical industries, nationally and internationally. And I have broad medical knowledge of most specialties in healthcare. And the healthcare laws from which healthcare is regulated and financed. I attend most of the leading medical conferences in Europe and America every year to keep my knowledge up to date and to keep up with the latest developments and innovations. I am currently doing a Masters in applied psychology.
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