Health and Wellbeing Services for Midlife Women in East Sussex v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services for Midlife Women (aged 40-65 years) in Under-resourced Communities in East Sussex: Understanding the Views of Women and Providers
IRAS ID
328178
Contact name
Kiersten Simmons
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Clinical Research Facility, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
This study uses focus groups and interviews with midlife women (aged 40-65 years) in East Sussex (Brighton, Hastings, and Eastbourne), focusing on recruiting those living in the most under-resourced areas, and interviews with their Providers of care, to investigate how Women's Health and Wellbeing Services (WHWS) can best be designed to meet the needs of women aged 40-65 years, and the current barriers and enablers to accessing WHWS that they face. Women are under-represented in clinical research, and have poor, and unequal, access to WHWS in the UK. Midlife women are working in greater numbers and until later in life, and they play a crucial role in the unpaid caring sector. Prompt, effective diagnosis and treatment of midlife women's health and wellbeing challenges can have wide-ranging benefits to individuals, partnerships, and communities. Particular elements of WHWS relevant to midlife women which require research investment were highlighted by the first Women's Health Strategy in the UK: diagnostic testing (sexually transmitted infections and HIV), cervical and breast screening, menopause care, contraception, incontinence services, and sexual dysfunction services. A systematic review, and consultation with the project's Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) group, have been used to formulate the research questions, determine the location of the recruitment posters (in the most deprived areas of Brighton, Hastings, and Eastbourne as per the English Indices of Deprivation 2019), and trained members of the PPI will help to facilitate the focus groups and interviews. The study will last 18-24 months, and findings of our exploration into how WHWS can be designed to best serve the lives of women aged 40-65 years in East Sussex, particularly those in under-resourced areas, will be disseminated to women, their communities, and providers, and will feed into the plans for the new Sussex Women's Health Hub.
REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/EE/0032
Date of REC Opinion
21 Feb 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion