Shoppers Foundation Pledges 50M Dollar for Women's Health Equity

• Consumers Foundation for Women's Health will spend $50 million by 2026 on enhancing women's health in Canada
• The investment responds to problems such as women's underrepresentation in research on their health

Shoppers Foundation for Women's Health, Shoppers Drug Mart's philanthropic partner, is committing $50 million by 2026 to tackle core health disparities among women, including their underrepresentation in health studies.

In cooperation with Women's Health Collective Canada over a period of years, the foundation is supporting research leading to a Canadian standard for menopause care.

This involves work at the BC Women's Health Foundation Menopause Centre, where staff is designing and piloting training for primary care providers to enhance the quality of menopause care.

Amy Flood, the executive director of Women's Health Collective Canada, stressed the initiative's relevance, since women's health is extremely diverse because of changes they face in their life as a result of menstruation.

The majority of women are still not prepared for menopause, and don't have reliable access to credible information. Their partnership hopes to enable gender-sensitive research, improve existing support systems, and provide women with reliable information.

Studies by Shoppers Foundation for Women's Health identify gaps in Canadian awareness and education regarding menopause and perimenopause:

One in five women doesn’t even know the definition of perimenopause. 37 percent have never been provided with information regarding perimenopause or menopause from outside sources.

76 percent don't feel prepared to recognize early symptoms of perimenopause, and 85 percent don't know how these changes might influence long-term health.

79 percent don't feel that they have the information required to successfully navigate menopause. Paulette Minard, the community investment director of the Shoppers Foundation for Women's Health, remarked that the study shows a strong desire for education and information about these life phases. The goal of the foundation is to educate women and raise their awareness of their own bodies.