Health Services: Females

(asked on 8th December 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 66 of the Women’s Health Strategy for England, published in August 2022, whether his Department is taking steps to encourage research on the impact of (a) menstruation and (b) gynaecological conditions on (i) educational outcomes and attainment, (ii) workforce participation and (iii) sickness absence rates.


Answered by
Maria Caulfield Portrait
Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
This question was answered on 19th December 2022

The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Subject to receiving high quality applications, the NIHR expects to commission a new policy research unit dedicated to reproductive health. The unit will undertake research to inform policy in areas such as menstruation and gynaecological conditions. The impact of menstruation and gynaecological conditions on educational outcomes and attainment and on workforce participation and sickness absence has been highlighted as a potential research topic for this unit. Applications are currently being reviewed and the unit expected to operate from January 2024.

The UK Menopause Taskforce has considered the evidence base and identified priorities for menopause research, such as the cost of menopause to individuals, employers, the public sector and economy. This will inform a menopause research prioritisation exercise commissioned by the NIHR. This exercise will also consider research recommendations from a range of experts, including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. The exercise began on 5 December 2022 and is expected to conclude in January 2023.

Reticulating Splines