The issue of women’s health and the struggle to diagnose conditions such as endometriosis and adenomyosis has been a topic of discussion for many years. The Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh is one of the few places in the UK where researchers are actively investigating these conditions. Researchers are working to understand why some women experience far heavier periods than others and what that can tell us about their underlying conditions. Jen Moore, a sufferer of adenomyosis, spoke with the research team to see firsthand what they were working on.
Women’s reproductive health conditions like these are often underfunded in medical research despite affecting a significant portion of the population. Scientists, politicians, and campaigners have argued that research into conditions that specifically affect women has been, and still is, systemically underfunded. According to recent figures, just 2.1% of public spending on medical research is dedicated to women’s reproductive health and childbirth. The Department for Health and Social Care says it has invested £53m into researching “women’s health issues” and will launch a dedicated policy research unit focusing on reproductive health in January.
While these efforts are commendable, getting funding for medical research into such conditions is difficult. There are grants from charities, from pharmaceutical companies, and from the government. However, scientists, politicians, and campaigners argue that ring-fencing – specifically setting aside research funds for conditions like these – is a possible solution. The government-funded Medical Research Council, which focuses on high-impact research, tells us that they receive relatively low numbers of applications to understand specific conditions that affect women, such as adenomyosis and endometriosis, even though they have an above-average success rate in securing funding.
There is hope for effective treatment and potential diagnostic tools for women who suffer from these conditions. But Dr Jackie Maybin, a consultant gynaecologist at the Centre for Reproductive Health, points out that optimism must be tempered by the realities of medical research which can be quite exploratory and can take years. “Often we can fail and have to start again. This is difficult work that we’re doing,” she notes. The real question is whether there’s the will from research scientists, funding bodies, healthcare professionals, and those in government with the power to change priorities, to take what’s happening here and turn it into effective treatments that will make a difference to the lives of so many people
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