With more than 90,000 members who identify as women – representing 89 per cent of our membership – ANMF (Vic Branch) earlier this year took advantage of our unique position to provide both professional and personal feedback to the Allan Government’s landmark Inquiry into Women’s Pain.
Our member survey, designed to inform our Inquiry submission, received almost 800 responses in just four days. ANMF officers also conducted interviews and focus groups with nurse/midwife leaders working in women’s health and wellbeing.
Your responses and feedback overwhelmingly supported the existing evidence that chronic pain affects a higher proportion of girls and women than men, but that women are less likely to receive appropriate treatment for it.
‘The Inquiry into Women’s Pain has literally touched a nerve for our members,’ said ANMF (Vic Branch) Assistant Secretary Madeleine Harradence. ‘For too long, women’s pain has been an unknown: under-diagnosed and under treated.’
Inquiry findings
In September, Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas announced the preliminary findings of the Inquiry – among them, that:
- nurses made up the majority of healthcare workers who participated
- those nurses’ professional observations included that treating practitioners’ lack of knowledge about women’s health was the biggest barrier to care for many of their patients.
Informed by your feedback and that of more than 13,000 survey responses and over 300 submissions, the Inquiry into Women’s Pain will develop recommendations for the Victorian Women’s Health Advisory Council (see more below) by December 2024. The final report and recommendations of the Inquiry will be published in early 2025.
The report is expected to include recommendations to inform improved models of care and service delivery for Victorian girls and women experiencing pain in the future.
Women’s Pain Matters: Rethinking Care
On Friday 22 November, ANMF (Vic Branch) is holding a special one-day forum to discuss the Inquiry’s findings and further examine the connection between gender bias and the impact on women’s experience of – and access to – the diagnosis and management of pain-related illnesses.
Featuring government and healthcare representatives as well as ANMF members working in the field, the Women’s Pain Matters: Rethinking Care forum will also analyse the impact of this bias on research and healthcare access for women for example cardiac conditions.
Topics to be discussed on the day include:
- the impact of gender bias on research, treatment and outcomes for women
- First Nations women’s health and experiences of the health system
- women’s health initiatives and healthcare improvements
- a workshop to further explore the issues and potential solutions
‘Nurses and midwives, despite their excellent health literacy, are not immune to the bias and structural inequities within the healthcare system for women in this country,’ Assistant Secretary Harradence said.
‘This forum will bring together leaders in this space – including, importantly, our members who are already doing significant work supporting women in the community.
‘We want to spotlight the work that these members are doing, and also provide an opportunity to hear from the Minister for Health and Department of Health representatives about the current and future reform underway.’
The forum will be held at the Carson Conference Centre, 535 Elizabeth Street and is worth six CPD hours.
Early bird registrations are open until 5pm Friday 1 November.
Student members can also access a further reduced ticket price.
The Victorian Women’s Health Advisory Council
Madeleine Harradence is also a member of the Victorian Women’s Health Advisory Council, which marked its first year of operation in September 2024. The Council was established in September 2023 by the state government to guide the strong investment in women’s health and to ensure a more central focus in health policy and funding.
In addition to co-delivering the Inquiry into Women’s Pain, the Council provides independent advice on the implementation of the government’s $153 million women’s health package – a 2022 election promise.
As part of that package, the government is establishing 20 new women’s health clinics to provide free comprehensive care and support for Victorian women experiencing conditions like endometriosis, pelvic pain and the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause. The first five of those clinics have been established over the past first 12 months, at the Northern Hospital, Royal Women’s Hospital, Frankston Hospital, Barwon Health Geelong and Grampians Health.
On Wednesday 2 October, the locations of the next five clinics to open were announced as Goulburn Valley Health, Western Health Sunshine, Eastern Health, Monash Health, and Central Highlands Rural Health.
In the past 12 months, the Council has also:
- launched an additional nine Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Hubs – bringing the total number of hubs in Victoria to 20
- established 13 Women’s Health and Wellbeing Support Groups and Programs across the state
- distributed over 175 scholarships to women’s health professionals within the clinics and hubs
- delivered 1609 additional laparoscopies to diagnose and treat endometriosis
- funded key research and capacity building priorities for women’s health.
