The WOW Factor

Website empowers older women to take charge of their health

by ALICIA PRIEST

Modern psychology founder Sigmund Freud is credited with articulating what many people—that is, many men—have apparently pondered for centuries: “What do women want?”

It’s a bit of a nonsensical question, mainly because not all women want the same things, yet that hasn’t stopped a score of (mostly male) gurus such as Dr. Phil and Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus author John Gray from trying to answer it. On the medical front, a slew of (mostly male) doctors have been prescribing surgical and chemical treatments to women for decades, with varying results. Hormone replacement therapy—long touted as a chemical panacea for just about everything female—comes to mind.

Of course, the best way to find out what women want is to ask them. And that’s exactly what a group of (female) Canadian health researchers did to determine what older women want more of in terms of health care. The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 2005, was conducted by Drs. Cara Tannenbaum and Nancy Mayo of the University of Montreal, and Francine Ducharme of McGill University.

Known as “WOW” or “What Older women Want,” the study consisted of a survey mailed to 5,000 women between the ages of 55 and 95 living in Canada’s 10 provinces. About half the women who received a survey responded, and the mean age of respondents was 71. Women were asked about 26 different health priorities as defined by the World Health Organization. Priorities were divided into three categories: diseases such as breast cancer or diabetes, functional issues such as muscle weakness and vision loss, and contextual factors such as aging-related environmental issues. The women were also asked if they felt their concerns were being addressed by health care providers.

Their answers surprised the researchers. Contrary to expectations, the women were not overly concerned with critical care issues or disease treatment. Up to 97 per cent said they were satisfied with the way they were being screened for heart disease and stroke. And about 90 per cent of those surveyed felt that they were adequately receiving information about side effects of medications either from their physicians or pharmacists.

But the study found that concerns relating to primary care or disease prevention were largely being ignored. The women’s top 10 unmet priorities were memory loss, falls, muscles weakness, depression, urinary incontinence, end-of-life issues, normal aging, vision loss, anxiety, and nutrition counselling. As little as 11 per cent of respondents reported receiving counselling for worries about memory loss or coping with end-of-life issues.

The WOW study was only a first step. In July, in an effort to transform knowledge into action, the Canadian Women’s Health Network and the Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal launched a WOW website (wowhealth.ca), aimed at giving older women the health information they lack. Funded by the Canadian Institute for Health Research, the site also has content directed specifically at health practitioners.

Creators of the site targeted topics that women felt were being neglected. They narrowed the list down to the following three unmet needs: screening and treating of urinary incontinence, counselling about memory loss (or perceived memory loss), and exercises to prevent physical problems such as falls and functional decline.

On the website’s urinary incontinence page, women learn that there are many treatment options available that don’t involve wearing diapers or going under the knife.

In an interview from Montreal, Dr. Cara Tannenbaum says she understands why women may feel embarrassed talking about “taboo” topics such as incontinence and memory loss.

“I was surprised how few women get help for incontinence,” Tannenbaum says. “There are myths, there are assumptions, there are attitudes at stake here and we were really hoping on that website to combat some of those. Our main message to women is that it’s not a normal part of aging. It’s not OK to live with this.”

Doctors and other health providers aren’t left off the hook. In their section of the site, they are encouraged not to accept incontinence in their patients, either.

“It’s a dual problem, to be honest, on the part of women and their health care providers,” says Tannenbaum.

In the memory loss section, the site offers signs, symptoms, causes, and strategies to combat the problem, plus a link to a fun McGill University website explaining how memory and other brain functions work (thebrain.mcgill.ca). While some memory loss is a natural part of aging, the WOW website reassures, not all of it is.

At its best, WOW has the potential to arm women with informed questions about their health care needs and to educate health care providers about exactly what many of these women want.

Alicia Priest is a Victoria freelance writer who is marching steadily (and not so slowly) toward older womanhood.