The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has launched an online survey for women in England to gather vital data on menstrual health, contraception, pregnancy planning, and menopause.
This survey is a key commitment in the Women’s Health Strategy and is open to all women in England aged 16 to 55 years.
It opened Thursday 7 September 2023 and will run for six weeks.
DHSC is funding the survey, which will be delivered by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Why the survey is important
Women make up 51% of the population in the UK and on average live longer than men. Women also spend a significantly greater proportion of their lives in ill health and disability when compared with men, but the health and care system has been designed by men for men.
Women are asked to answer questions in the survey about:
Survey findings will be used to better understand women’s reproductive health experiences over time.
The vital information gathered about the lives and experiences of women will inform current and future government decision-making and health policy.
What's happened so far
Just over a year on from the launch of the Women’s Health Strategy:
Further measures being introduced include:
A menopause employment champion has also been appointed, recruitment and employability expert Helen Tomlinson, to improve support for menopause in the workplace.
Helen is working with the Department for Work and Pensions to create an online repository of menopause resources on GOV.UK for employers.
The government has also awarded grant funding to charities across England to help employers make changes to their workplace to support women’s reproductive health, which includes menopause.
