Jump to top menu Jump to main menu Jump to content

Innovation

Pioneering Innovations in Women's Health

The Netherlands Women’s Health R&I Center is at the forefront of innovation, striving to revolutionize women's health care. Our innovation agenda focuses on:

  1. Addressing Women-Specific Health Needs: We innovate to understand and mitigate conditions that uniquely affect women, significantly improving their quality of life and societal contributions.
  2. Bridging the Gender Health Gap: Our initiatives tackle the determinants of women's health and chronic diseases, ensuring that health solutions are tailored to women's unique needs.
  3. Collaborative Innovation: We integrate fragmented efforts, combining diverse knowledge to create cutting-edge tools, data, platforms, and technologies that enhance disease management across all life stages.
  4. Harnessing Digitalization: By exploiting the full potential of digitalization and data, we develop advanced methodologies and models, ensuring that women's health solutions are comprehensive and effective.

Infographic: Bridging Gaps in Women's Health Research and Innovation

Bridging Gaps in Women's Health Research and Innovation 

Text Version of the Infographic: Bridging Gaps in Women's Health Research and Innovation

Overview

The infographic highlights the need for cooperation and public-private partnerships to develop solutions for women’s health. It focuses on key areas where better research and innovation are needed to address gender-related health disparities.

Key Areas of Women's Health

The infographic identifies three focus areas that require targeted research and healthcare solutions:

  • Conditions that are women-specific: Diseases that exclusively affect women, such as gynecological conditions, menopause, and premenstrual syndrome.
  • Conditions that affect women differently than men: Diseases like depression, cardiovascular disease, and anxiety disorders that manifest or progress differently in women.
  • Women’s health across life stages: Acknowledging that health challenges evolve from adolescence to later years and require a lifelong approach.

Economic Impact of Women’s Health Conditions

Condition 

GDP Impact in percentages ($ Billion)

Menopause

120

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)

115

Depressive Disorders

100

Migraine

80

Other Gynecological Diseases

69

Anxiety Disorders

47

Ischemic Heart Disease

43

Osteoarthritis

35

Asthma

24

Drug Use Disorders

20

Ovarian Cancer

17

These conditions significantly affect both quality of life and economic productivity.

Bridging Data and Research Gaps

The infographic highlights the urgent need to improve research and data collection in women’s health by: 

  • Creating healthcare solutions tailored to women’s needs, developed through collaboration between research institutions and healthcare providers.
  • Investigating gender differences in disease progression and treatment, ensuring that medical research and therapies address how conditions affect women differently than men.
  • Improving data collection on women’s health conditions, so policies and healthcare interventions are based on accurate, gender-specific evidence.

Conclusion

Addressing women’s health disparities through collaborative research, better data collection, and gender-specific healthcare solutions will improve health outcomes, productivity, and economic stability. Bridging these gaps is essential for achieving equitable healthcare for women across all life stages.

Our Innovation Projects

Project Name Project Description
Smarter Pregnancy An online platform that supports couples in having a healthy pregnancy through personalized advice.
Mothers of Rotterdam An initiative that guides vulnerable pregnant women in Rotterdam to improve their health and that of their children.
Healthy Pregnancy 4 All A national program aimed at promoting equal opportunities for a healthy pregnancy for all women.
ZwangerWijzer An online tool that helps (future) parents prepare for a healthy pregnancy.
Implementation of the guide for microvascular dysfunction

This project focuses on implementing guidelines for diagnosing and treating microvascular dysfunction.

A loyalty program to motivate vulnerable women to engage in preconception care: ‘from voucher to tablet’ This project promotes a healthier lifestyle and preconception care for vulnerable women to improve pregnancy outcomes.
Adjuvante HPV-vaccinatie This project aims to reduce the recurrence of vHSIL and lower the risk of vulvar cancer, improving quality of life and reducing healthcare costs.
Risk prediction, screening and therapy of breast cancer in women from CHEK2 c.1100delC families in the Netherlands This project aims to develop personalized screening guidelines for CHEK2 mutation carriers to optimize early detection and treatment of breast cancer.

References

Go back to the homepage of the NL-WHR&IC

Innovation

Innovation

Innovation

Innovation

Innovation

Innovation