Low cancer testing and other concerning trends in women's health

The latest Hologic Global Women’s Health Index has been released, revealing some worrying trends in women’s health — including, for the first time in the history of the Index, a decline in cancer testing.

Hologic, a leading women’s health innovator, partners with Gallup to create the Index, which assigns a women’s health score to each country or territory based on survey responses on five dimensions of health. Based on interviews with more than 146,000 women and men in 142 countries and territories, it represents the voices of 97% of the world’s women and girls aged 15 and older, making it one of the largest collections of data on women’s health and wellbeing.

Overall, the world scored 53 out of 100 on the Index, reflecting no significant change since the Index started four years ago. Taiwan led the world for the fourth consecutive year, scoring 68 out of a possible 100. Other top scores went to Kuwait (67), Austria (66) and Switzerland (65). The lowest scores went to Afghanistan (30), the Democratic Republic of Congo (34) and Chad (35). Australia scored 59 points, ranking 42 out of 142 countries and territories — a drop of three points and 12 places since Year 3 of the Index.

Key findings from this year’s Index include the following:

• Only 10% of women said they underwent any type of cancer testing in the past year, reflecting a decrease of two percentage points from the first two years of the survey.
• 38% of women reported being unable to afford food at some point in the past year — the highest level of food insecurity in nearly two decades — while 32% of women said they could not afford adequate shelter.
• More women reported feeling worried (42%) and sad (30%) compared to Year 1 of the Index, with over one-third (35%) saying they felt unsafe in their communities.
• 34% of women reported experiencing significant pain the previous day, while 26% indicated that health problems impacted their ability to engage in everyday activities.
• The Index assessed women’s HIV testing for the first time and found concerning disparities: less than 0.5% of women were tested in certain countries, primarily those in the Middle East and North Africa, and no country scored above 41%. Just 6% of women — regardless of whether they visited a healthcare professional or were tested for STIs — said they were tested for HIV in the past year.
• Some countries are making progress, with 28 countries observing meaningful increases in their scores since the first year of the Index, including Kazakhstan, Kenya, Poland and Venezuela.
   

“Today’s data reveal a worsening trend in women’s health,” said Stephen P MacMillan, Chairman, President and CEO of Hologic. “The shocking decline in cancer testing is a wake-up call. Business as usual is not working. Innovative strategies and collaborative efforts are needed to make sustained improvements in women’s health and wellbeing around the world.”

To see the full Index and related resources, visit WomensHealthIndex.com.

Image credit: iStock.com/Youngoldman