More than 1.5 Billion Women Worldwide Lack Essential Health Screenings
September 21 2022 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
Hologic Global Women’s Health Index finds
widespread barriers to preventive care and a growing gap in women’s
well-being between high- and low-income countries
More than 1.5 billion women worldwide lack screenings for
cancer, heart disease, diabetes or sexually transmitted
diseases/infections – even though these conditions together affect
billions of women. The finding comes from one of the world’s
largest studies of women’s well-being: the second annual Hologic
Global Women’s Health Index.
The report, released today, identifies many barriers to
preventive care for women. These hurdles include struggles to find
enough food and shelter, lack of educational opportunities and
threats to women’s safety. They contribute to widening gaps in
women’s well-being across high- vs. low-income countries, urban vs.
rural areas, and highly- vs. less-educated individuals. The
barriers also fuel record-high levels of worry, stress, sadness and
anger among women worldwide.
All 122 countries and territories evaluated by the Index have
significant room for improvement in women’s health. The average
global score was only 53 out of a possible 100, the highest score
was 70 for Taiwan and the lowest score was 22 for Afghanistan.
“The lack of progress and, in some cases, backward momentum
justify an even louder wake-up call for world leaders to do more
for women, whose well-being underpins the health of families,
communities, societies and economies,” said Steve MacMillan,
Chairman, President and CEO of the global medical technology
innovator Hologic, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOLX). “Reliable data can ignite
genuine change, and we look forward to engaging leaders worldwide
to use the Index to champion women’s wellness.”
Hologic partnered with Gallup, a leading analytics firm, to
create the Index. For the second annual report, approximately
127,000 people worldwide – including 66,000 women and girls aged 15
and older – were surveyed during 2021 in more than 140 languages.
This immense reach means the Index represents 94% of the world’s
women and girls.
“We’re proud to collaborate with Hologic to enable women to tell
leaders about their health needs. As we jointly work with
policymakers across the continents, we emphasize the importance of
taking a comprehensive approach to elevating women’s well-being,”
said Gallup Managing Partner Vipula Gandhi.
The Index provides a framework for achieving comprehensive
progress. It looks at five interlocking dimensions of women’s
health: Preventive Care, Basic Needs, Opinions of Health and
Safety, Individual Health and Emotional Health. Together, these
dimensions account for more than 80% of the variances in women’s
life expectancy worldwide. They guide leaders in focusing on early
detection and treatment of disease, creating stronger safety nets
for life’s basic needs such as food and shelter, keeping women safe
and investing more resources to increase socioeconomic equity.
Shortfalls in these fundamentals bring about challenges that
hinder women from making their health a top priority. About 85% of
the women surveyed for the Index believe in the value of regular
visits to a healthcare professional, but less than 60% of them had
gone to a doctor, nurse, midwife or other health provider in the
last year. Only 12% of women said they were tested for any type of
cancer.
“As a physician who has worked with patients in different
corners of the world for decades, I’ve seen firsthand how early
detection of disease makes a critical difference in lifespan and
quality of life for women. But when women have to choose between
getting healthcare for themselves and finding the next meal for
their families, they will likely deprioritize their health,” said
Dr. Susan Harvey, Hologic’s Vice President of Worldwide Medical
Affairs. “It’s crucial for policymakers to see preventive care as
part of a multidimensional, mutually dependent set of factors that
should be jointly addressed.”
To learn more about the Hologic Global Women’s Health Index,
visit womenshealthindex.com.
HOLOGIC GLOBAL WOMEN’S HEALTH INDEX:
FAST FACTS
- What: One of the largest studies of women’s health in
the world, created by global medical technology innovator Hologic
and worldwide analytics leader Gallup. The second annual Hologic
Global Women’s Health Index report was released on September 21,
2022.
- Scope: The latest report draws from a 2021 survey of
127,000 people – including 66,000 women and girls aged 15 and older
– in more than 140 languages. This statistical sampling represents
94% of the world’s women and girls.
- Rankings: The Index assigns a women’s health score (from
one to 100) to each of 122 countries and territories, and then
ranks them. The average global score was only 53, and no
country/territory scored higher than 70.
- Highest-ranking countries and territories: Taiwan,
Latvia, Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Switzerland, Germany, Czech
Republic, Israel and Norway.
- Lowest-ranking countries and territories: Afghanistan,
Congo, Venezuela, Türkiye, Lebanon, Togo, Benin, Ecuador, Peru and
Gabon.
- U.S. placement: score of 61, which ranks the country at
#23.
- Essential screenings: 60% of female respondents
(representing more than 1.5 billion women worldwide) said they
weren’t tested in the last year for cancer, high blood pressure,
diabetes or sexually transmitted diseases/infections. Only 12% said
they were tested for any type of cancer.
- Healthcare disparities: The gap in Index scores between
high- and low-income economies nearly doubled – to 22 points –
between 2020 and 2021. In addition, the gap between urban vs. rural
women widened to six points. As for educational disparities, the
gap between women with an elementary education vs. those who
completed at least four years beyond high school grew to 13
points.
- Emotional health: 43% of female respondents said they
experienced worry, while 41% reported feeling stress, 32% reported
feeling sadness and 26% reported feeling anger. All these
percentages are record highs since the Gallup World Poll began
tracking emotional health a decade ago (and incorporated the same
tracking into the Hologic Global Women’s Health Index when it
began).
- Basic needs: 37% of female respondents (representing
nearly 1 billion women worldwide) said they at times lacked money
to buy needed food for themselves and their families, while 30%
(representing nearly 800 million women worldwide) said they at
times lacked money for adequate shelter.
About Hologic, Inc.
Hologic, Inc. is a global medical technology innovator primarily
focused on improving women’s health and well-being through early
detection and treatment. Its advancements include invention of the
world’s first commercial 3D mammography system to fight breast
cancer; leadership in testing for cervical cancer, sexually
transmitted infections, respiratory illnesses, and the virus that
causes COVID-19; and minimally invasive surgical technologies for
uterine fibroids and abnormal uterine bleeding.
The company also champions women through the Hologic Global
Women’s Health Index, which provides a science-backed data roadmap
for improving women’s well-being, and Project Health Equality,
which elevates awareness, research insights and access to quality
care for underserved women.
About Gallup
Founded in 1935, Gallup provides analytics, management and
educational consulting as well as the CliftonStrengths assessment.
Its Gallup World Poll is the most comprehensive and
farthest-reaching survey of the world, connecting with more than
90% of the world’s adult population through annual, nationally
representative surveys with comparable metrics across countries and
territories. Gallup World Poll has become an indispensable tool for
global leaders and decision-makers who need to understand the
hopes, dreams and behaviors of the people they serve.
SOURCE: Hologic, Inc.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220921005032/en/
Media contact: Jane Mazur Vice President, Corporate
Communications 508.263.8764 jane.mazur@hologic.com
Investor relations contact: Ryan Simon Vice President,
Investor Relations 858.410.8514 ryan.simon@hologic.com
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