The Opportunity
Opportunity For Everyone!
With an abundance of hospitals and health care institutions and an educated workforce where one in six workers are in the healthcare profession, WHIN is ideally situated to engage with and capitalize on the largely untapped inventive talents of the diverse and inclusive workforce in NE Florida to nurture innovation and transform women’s health.
Our vision is to create a world where research, medicine, and innovation give equal attention to women-centered design, where women of all races receive equal healthcare, and women’s unmet medical needs are addressed through the advancement of scientific knowledge and the application of use-inspired research discoveries to products and services in the market. The health of all sexes, society, and the global economy will improve when we invest in female-focused healthcare.
Technology development in healthcare is often concentrated in proximity to large hospital networks and institutions with research capabilities.
WHIN Executive Director, Jane Muir
WHIN will leverage the entire talent pool of NE Florida and beyond to expand the scientific body of knowledge about women’s health and translate that knowledge into products and services that provide better outcomes for all.
WHIN will create a pathway for utilizing emerging technologies (AI, robotics, advanced manufacturing) to improve women’s health outcomes, ensure equitable access to care, and engage more women and under-represented populations in all stages of the innovation lifecycle from research to commercialization.
Table 1. Opportunities for Advancing Women’s Health
Detrimental Effects for Women |
|
| Overmedication | A 2020 study found that over 96% of common drugs (like aspirin) are prescribed to women in too high doses leading to excess side effects. |
| More Side Effects | 86 drugs with known side effects, 96% of women experience side-effects from medications versus only 29% for men. |
| Misdiagnoses | A woman having a heart attack is 50% more likely to get the wrong diagnosis due to differences in symptoms and sensitivity to commonly used diagnostics. |
| Diagnosed Significantly Later | Across 700 diseases women are on average diagnosed significantly later than men. |
| Highest Maternal Mortality | Women in the U.S. have the highest maternal mortality rate of all developed countries. |
| Lack New Research & Innovation | Example, 1 in 10 women have endometriosis; it takes on average 10 years to get diagnosed. No known cause or cure. NIH 2020 budget for research on this topic was $20 million. |
| Greater Health Risks from Prescription Drugs | During 1997 – 2000, eight out of the ten prescription drugs removed from the U.S. market were due to unexpected statistically greater health risks for women than men. |
It is clear that investing in women’s health research has the potential for better health as well as significant economic impact by reducing healthcare costs, reduced absenteeism and increased productivity, and the creation of new jobs. A World Health Organization report cited a study on the economic impact of reducing premature mortality globally and found that reducing premature mortality by 20% in a population of 10 million people (about half the population of New York) could lead to an increase in GDP of $3.8 billion.