Issue #89 – Women’s decision-making power.

Happy FemTech Friday

Despite big moves in women’s empowerment, there are still major gaps in healthcare decision-making worldwide. Research highlights factors influencing women’s autonomy in healthcare decisions: education, occupation, socioeconomic status, residence, religion/culture, and personal factors. 

A study across 57 countries showed some serious differences. In places like Europe, Latin America, and South-eastern Asia, more than 80% of women have a say in decisions about their sexual and reproductive health. But in Middle and Western Africa, that drops to less than 40%.

Now, let’s zoom into India where 73.3% of married women are making major household decisions. That means they’re having the final say in household purchases, decisions about their own healthcare, and visits to family and friends.

Here’s the breakdown for women aged 15-49:

Factors influencing women’s autonomy in healthcare decision making:

• Working women are more likely to participate in healthcare decision making.
• Partner’s education level influences women’s autonomy.
• Household income is associated with autonomy in healthcare decisions.
• Cultural & religious norms influence autonomy in healthcare decision making.
• Social support and women’s self-esteem positively correlate with autonomy.
• Generally, higher wealth index correlates with higher autonomy. 

Women aged 21-30 were twice as likely to participate in decision-making compared to those under 20, with those over 30 seven times more likely.

Call to Action : Empowering women to make healthcare decisions and ensuring they use healthcare services properly can lower illness and death rates for mothers and their children.

• Healthtech startup, Cloud Physician Healthcare, has raised $10.5 million in a Series A round led by Peak XV Partners. The round also participation from Elevar Equity and venture debt firm Panthera Peak. Earlier in 2021, the startup had raised $4 million in pre-Series A round from Elevar Equity.

• Sava, a London, UK-based health monitoring company providing a wearable biosensor platform, raised $8M in Seed funding.
• Carelane, a Bremen, Germany-based life sciences technology startup, raised €800K in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF).
• The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the expansion of its unified platform designed to streamline clinical trials.
• The women’s health company OCON Therapeutics has secured US$10m in funding to address uterine disorders.OCON aims to develop new drug delivery systems for treating some of the most prevalent uterine pathologies, based on the company’s IUB (Intra-Uterine Ball) platform.
• Ronovo Surgical, a Shanghai-based medical technology innovator developing novel surgical robotics for soft tissue procedures, announces the successful closing of its Series B financing, raising a total of $44M from leading healthcare technology investors to accelerate the commercialization of its proprietary modular robotic system, the Carina™ Platform, in the Chinese market and set the stage for international expansion.

• Acupuncture can help breast cancer patients deal with the hot flashes that often accompany hormone therapy, a new clinical trial says. Nearly 2 in 3 women who got acupuncture during hormone therapy reported fewer and less intense hot flashes, results show.
• Many sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise in the United States, and a nationwide poll indicates that ignorance about how they’re transmitted could be fueling their spread. About a third of Americans (34%) falsely believe sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can only be transmitted through sexual intercourse, poll results show. In fact, they can also be transmitted by kissing, sharing needles and during childbirth.
• A “groundbreaking” study into endometriosis has identified three areas for future research that can help improve the outcomes for women with the condition.
• More than 80 per cent of employees think their workplace should have a “menstruation-friendly” policy, new research has shown. The study, conducted by Henpicked: Menstruation Friendly in partnership with FitrWoman, polled more than 750 employers and employees and found that 54 per cent of employers said that understanding its necessity is the biggest barrier to adopting a menstruation-friendly policy, while 33 per cent said a lack of resources and expertise are preventing progress.
• Women in England have been urged to attend cervical screenings after figures showed a third of those under 50 did not take up their invitation.  NHS cervical screening helps to prevent cervical cancer by using a test to check for high-risk HPV, which causes 99 per cent of cervical cancers.
• A common plastics chemical might increase a person’s risk of diabetes, a new study warns.People fed small doses of Bisphenol A (BPA) developed significantly worse insulin sensitivity within a four-day period, researchers found.
• A study involving almost 400,000 people finds zero benefit from multivitamin use in helping folks live longer. Among people “without a history of major chronic diseases, we did not find evidence to support improved longevity among healthy adults who regularly take multivitamins,” concluded the study.
• Chronic migraine sufferers who use too much pain medication sometimes get smacked with rebound headaches.But new research suggests that a medication commonly used to prevent migraines may also help fend off rebound headaches. The study of 755 people with chronic migraine — meaning 15 or more headache days a month with migraines on eight or more — found that those who overused pain meds had fewer headache days when taking the migraine prevention drug atogepant (Quilipta).
• Even though plant-based meat alternatives are ultra-processed, they still may be healthier for your heart than traditional meat is, a new review finds.
• Researchers at Imperial College London have been awarded £150,000 in funding to investigate how breastfeeding lowers the risk of breast cancer. The award will enable Dr James Flanagan and PhD student Sophia D’Alessandro to study whether the length of time a woman breastfeeds affects her breast cancer risk.

• iMumz, in honour of International Yoga Day hosted a special session which was led by onal Sachdeva.
• The Hemp Seed brand owned by Hempstreet launched India’s first super bars to address UTI for Indian women.

• Wellbeing of Women and Maroon Venture Fund have announced a multi-year partnership to advance women’s health.
• The US fertility benefits platform Progyny has acquired the Berlin-based fertility benefits provider Apryl. Progyny’s benefits platform supports multinational employers and their employee populations in over 100 countries.
• A new app designed to help pregnant women better monitor their health has launched in the US.BobiHealth aims to “transform” the way pregnant women monitor their health by providing insights into their health, monitoring for potential issues and alerting users when their health status could be something of concern.
• Naomi Watts, actress and advocate for women’s health, and L Catterton, a Greenwich, CT-based consumer-focused investment firm, announced their partnership in the acquisition of Beverly Hills, CA based Stripes Beauty.Stripes Beauty was founded by actress Naomi Watts with the mission to normalize conversations about menopause and other symptoms associated with natural hormonal changes as women age.

• The Karnataka government’s Project Chandana with Rs. 18 crore funding from Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) will trace sickle cell anaemia in the population. This is part of the state’s efforts to make Karnataka anaemia-free.
• The Indian medical care sector opts for a dynamic financing approach with AI, blockchain, and advanced analytics. The sector is seen to balance costs of medical infrastructure with the financial affordability of the patients.

• I Have Incontinence. How Can I Avoid Accidents When I Leave Home?
  Effective treatments and products can help manage this stressful condition.
• Spray Sunscreen Is Convenient. But Does It Work?Dermatologists explain the benefits — and drawbacks — of this popular option.

See you next Friday, friends 👋
Navneet

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