AWHF: Advancing Women's Health Research: Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation

Advancing Women's Health Research

The Alberta Women’s Health Foundation strives to uncover and address the many disparities and knowledge gaps that exist in women’s health.

The fact is, women’s health research is an area historically underfunded and sometimes nonexistent. As a new initiative of the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation, the AWHF plans to #RefocusTheResearch and change this unfortunate truth.

Since launching on March 8, 2021, we have been hard at work fulfilling our mission to uncover these disparities, expand our understanding, and make meaningful positive change possible.

Inspire Inclusion

The AWHF took another step for women's health in 2024, launching Inspire Inclusion on International Women's Day, starting a call to forge a more inclusive world for women.

In partnership with Alberta Blue Cross, we are encouraging individuals to consider how far women have come in many critical areas of our lives, from sport to politics and everything in between, and we are highlighting the brilliant efforts of some of the best women’s health researchers in our province working to create equitable health care for all.

View #InspireInclusion Campaign

Surveying the Silence

In 2023, the AWHF followed up on our first thought leadership report which focused on women's experiences during the pandemic. The next report, "Surveying the Silence: Exploring the Impact of Taboos in Women's Health," was an initiative to look at the impact of taboos on women’s health, and to bring attention to medical conditions affecting women's lives in our province.

We surveyed over 2,200 people in Alberta to understand their top health issues, concerns, and experiences seeking help for conditions specifically associated with women’s anatomy, such as: menopause, endometriosis, painful periods and PMDD, PCOS, pelvic floor issues, and more.

The culture of silence around health conditions like these and other topics in women’s health has taken a toll on women and has played a role in the many disparities in care and research that still exist today.

Read Surveying the Silence

We Are Not Equal

On International Women’s Day on March 8, 2022–the one-year anniversary of our launch–we unveiled a new brand video entitled “We Are Not Equal.”

Our goal with this video was to inspire us all to see the world a little differently—or, "to change and open minds," as stated by Jared Mauldin, the young man whose letter inspired the story.

Many deep-rooted gender biases still exist in our society, which has led to gaps in women's health and women's health research. These biases have negatively impacted the opportunity for women to be healthy.

"We Are Not Equal" went on to win the award for the category of "Best Promotional Production." at the 48th annual AMPIA Rosie awards.

Learn About We Are Not Equal

Finding the Fractures

In November of 2021, we published our first thought leadership report, entitled “Finding the Fractures: The Pandemic, Women's Health Disparities, and the Path to Equity.”

For this effort, we launched a province-wide survey to better understand how the pandemic has impacted women in Alberta.

Summarizing these results in our Finding the Fractures report, we bring together data and evidence of the current disparities in women’s health, uncover stories of women’s worsening mental and physical health, and detail their many challenges juggling medical appointments, childcare, and work commitments.

We invite you to read the full report and to share and discuss within your circles.

Read Finding the Fractures

We are grateful for our many donors and supporters, and could not do the important work we do without you. If you would like to learn more, please visit the AWHF homepage.

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