To wrap up Women’s Health Week, doctors are urging women to take stock of their mental health.
Dr. Sharon Eloranta, medical director at the Washington Health Alliance, said COVID-19 was hard for everyone and led to a drop in health screenings.
She said with the worst of the pandemic over, some women may need to consider how to prioritize their health.
“Women experienced more anxiety and stress during the time of the pandemic,” said Eloranta, “and I think that may have been reflective of the fact that they worry not only about their own health, but about health of the people in their families and others. And that can be a hill to climb if you’re trying to get back into taking good care of yourself.”
For Women’s Health Week – which runs through Saturday – the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is asking women to schedule regular checkups, exercise and eat a healthy and balanced diet.
CDC data show a disturbing trend in mental health, with the rate of young girls saying they attempted suicide twice that of young boys.
Dr. Donna O’Shea, an OB/GYN and chief medical officer of Population Health at UnitedHealthcare, said parents need to be on the lookout for symptoms of depression and anxiety in adolescent girls.
“Especially after COVID,” said O’Shea. “We found that 57% of high school girls have experienced persistent feelings of sadness in the last year. Ten years ago, that number was only 36%.”
Eloranta said it’s important for people to pay attention when they aren’t feeling normal.
“‘I’m just down, and nothing that usually makes me happy tends to change it.’ Then that’s time to reach out and try and find some support,” said Eloranta. “And again, it can be through your employer, it can be through your primary care. You can always call a friend and see if they have any referrals for you to go and get some assistance.”
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Two groups are working to create equal opportunities for Black and Latina women in the trucking industry.
The Truist Foundation has pledged $1.5 million to the Accion Opportunity Fund to support the Down Payment Assistance Program, which aims to empower minority women by helping them become first-time truck owners and entrepreneurs.
Luz Urrutia, CEO of the Accion Opportunity Fund, said the step is crucial in bridging the equity gap for underrepresented groups.
“America is in the midst of an entrepreneur boom with record numbers of small businesses, and they’re led by women and people of color,” Urrutia pointed out. “At the same time, there is a $130 million financing gap for small businesses who need less than $100,000 in this country.”
Urrutia noted since 2010, Accion Opportunity Fund has invested $360 million in the trucking industry, providing crucial support to more than 6,000 first-time truck buyers through loans.
Nicole Ward, president of the African American Women Trucking Association and a trucking entrepreneur from Georgia, has firsthand experience with the challenges faced by women of color breaking into the trucking industry.
Despite encountering setbacks when trying to purchase her first truck, Ward persevered and now advocates for others in her community to do the same.
“I thought it would be as easy as purchasing a car, but I didn’t realize that entering the industry you are looked at as a weaker link because it’s a male-dominated industry,” Ward explained. “Instead of jumping into the transportation industry I had to crawl in because I didn’t have a certain financial support that was needed.”
Ward hopes the Accion Opportunity Fund Program sets a precedent for other financial institutions in ensuring equitable access to funding for entrepreneurs of color.
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Researchers from the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine and Gillings School of Public Health are exploring the potential of HPV self-collection kits to increase cervical cancer screenings among underserved and under-screened women in North Carolina.
The aim of the study is to overcome hurdles such as transportation difficulties among women with a lack of insurance.
Jennifer Smith, associate professor of epidemiology at the university, explained self-collection kits are user-friendly and need no supervision, making it easy for women to test swiftly in a private location of their choice. By using prepaid mailers to send samples back for analysis, the kits could save lives.
“It’s really increasing screening rates among the under-screened that is going to have the biggest impact on invasive cancer mortality in our state of North Carolina,” Smith asserted.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal more than 8 million womenaged 21 to 65 have not undergone a cervical cancer screening in the past five years.
However, Smith’s research indicates utilizing the kits has led to a substantial increase in screenings for women of diverse ages, backgrounds and insurance statuses who are at risk of cervical cancer.
More data from the CDC suggests up to 93% of cervical cancers could be prevented. The researchers aim for this trial to pave the way for self-collection kits to gain FDA approval. By offering a convenient and accessible alternative for screening, Smith hopes the initiative will improve preventive health care for all women in North Carolina and beyond.
“I think it’s really important that women understand that if they are 21 years of age or older, they have access to pap-smear screenings, and if they’re 30 years of age or older, they can also combine HPV testing along with the pap-smear testing or even HPV primary screening alone to screen for cervical cancer,” Smith outlined.
With more than 12,000 women diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, Smith advised promoting open conversations with loved ones on the subject to encourage testing.
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This week is National Women’s Health Week, and New York is taking steps to improve women’s health.
The New York state Legislature has passed numerous bills to strengthen reproductive health and eliminate maternal health care inequities.
A 2023 report from the state’s Department of Health found discrimination was a probable circumstance in 46% of all pregnancy-related deaths in 2018.
Ali Foti, program officer for the New York Health Foundation, described a grant program they have developed, which focuses on eradicating maternal health disparities.
“We have a grant-making priority area here at the New York Health Foundation called Empowering Healthcare Consumers, which really focuses on ensuring patients who have been marginalized in our health care system are instead placed at the center of their care and are able to make care decisions that align with their needs and preferences,” Foti explained.
She pointed out the program aims to help mothers and birthing people make well-informed decisions about their care.
A 2021 report from New York’s Taskforce on Maternal Mortality and Disparate Racial Outcomes made numerous recommendations on how to improve maternal care. Most centered around improving access to health care and services associated with prenatal and postpartum care.
The COVID-19 pandemic affected the regularity with which people seek medical care. According to a survey from the Journal of the American Medical Association Health Forum, around 20% of adults said they delayed or were unable to get medical care because of the pandemic.
Dr. Donna O’Shea, OB/GYN and chief medical officer for population health at UnitedHealthcare, said things have gotten better for people seeking care, like preventive screenings.
“I think it’s better, people are starting to catch up,” O’Shea observed. “But depending on which age group you fall into, you have different needs and special needs for when you’re in early adulthood or in late adulthood.”
O’Shea noted it is important to remind women there are special needs linked to their age, such as starting to screen for cervical cancer at age 21.
America’s Health Rankings Health of Women and Children report found New York’s rate of cervical cancer screenings of 76.2% came in just under the national average of 77.1%.
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