Empowering the female health consumer

We often hear “women can have it all.” But what does that mean in the realm of healthcare? Far too often, we hear of women whose stories and lived experiences are diminished. Cultural change will only occur when our inputs — what we see and hear every day — tell a more modern story.

At a closed-door roundtable following MM+M’s Women of Distinction event, Jennifer Brekke, ConcentricLife co founder and president, moderated a discussion about elevating women’s voices in the management of their own health, the struggle to have their pain and symptoms acknowledged, the gaps in research and solutions for women, and how women’s stories can be questioned.

A group of female leaders had a wide-ranging discussion about how to inspire future generations of women, what we can all do as individuals to further the cause, and how our work in the healthcare field can evolve the conversation to build awareness and affect change.

Panelists offering insight were Yvonne Bryant, senior director of consumer marketing lead at Novo Nordisk; Carrie Caulkins, VP of marketing at Galderma; Jessica Daponte, SVP of brand planning at ConcentricLife; KC Dickerson, EVP and head of engagement at ConcentricLife; Kara Giannecchini, senior director of custom content, Haymarket Media; Kristin McAteer, managing director at ConcentricLife; and Perika Sampson, global head of inclusion and diversity at Gilead.

Leading as a woman

Bryant, Dickerson and McAteer kicked off the conversation with great advice they’ve received in their careers. The personal mantra that has stuck with Bryant throughout her career is to “never forget you belong in any room you’re invited to.”

Expanding on that idea, McAteer said that she keeps in mind that “the question isn’t ‘Who’s going to let me?’ but ‘Who’s going to stop me?’”

Giannecchini shared that she is inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt’s words, “a woman is like a tea bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” She has found “that’s usually when you see women shine —when their backs are up against the wall.”

As a leader, “you often need to be fierce and take some risks, but you can always do that in a kind way, make connections and lift others up while you’re doing that,” Brekke said.

The key is to lead with authenticity. “So many people are trying to be something they think they want them to be and they don’t succeed because people can tell when you’re not being true to yourself,” said Caulkins.

Steering better health outcomes

Female healthcare leaders are in a unique position to help shape and influence even better outcomes for diverse communities. “It’s about telling authentic stories and doing so with respect, and shining a light on vulnerable experiences that sometimes we don’t share or we do in whispers when no one’s looking,” Daponte explained.

Over the past decade, there have been incredible “advancements in how we communicate — the tools, the data that we use to find these patients and create these communities,” Brekke said. But we still have a long way to go.

Gender bias in healthcare remains a prevalent issue. Brekke noted that women are less likely than men to be given painkillers and referred for further diagnostic investigations, yet more likely to suffer from chronic pain and be told their pain is psychosomatic. According to the Journal of the American Heart Association, women who visited the ER with chest pain waited 29% longer than men to be evaluated for a possible heart attack, she said. In addition, it typically takes 2.5 more years for women to be diagnosed with cancer than men and 4.5 more years for a diabetes diagnosis. Overall, women are diagnosed later than men in more than 700 diseases.

As healthcare marketers, “We need to activate the medical community differently and we have to teach people how to use their voices differently,” Dickerson said. “It almost feels like a lexicon challenge – if you use these words, you will get more action.”

Changing those outcomes begins with education of doctors and patients. It’s critical to “reevaluate how doctors are taught to respond to patients and also understand that women communicate differently than men,” Caulkins said.

Starting at a young age, girls can learn “how to advocate for themselves, how to talk about their bodies and what they’re feeling and how to talk to a doctor,” Sampson added.

Changing the narrative

Women often put the care of their families and loved ones in front of their own health needs. That may contribute to why women are diagnosed later than men. Female leaders in healthcare can play a critical role in changing that narrative and encourage women to attend to their own health matters, too.

Just like on an airplane, women need to remember to put their oxygen masks on first before helping others. “That’s such a visual representation of what we can communicate for women to advocate for themselves so that they are able to care for all of those people in their life that they have to care for,” McAteer said.

Companies could take it a step further by “prioritizing your health as an individual and making that part of our culture,” Brekke said.

To do that requires a shift in the way we view health and wellness. “If employers and employees can think about a full life and not just being busy, then you have more time for wellness and all those other things that make life worth living,” Daponte said.

Of course, doctors and healthcare providers are trying to do good and serve their patients as best they can. Patients can assist in this process and better advocate for themselves by “coming in armed with thoughts about what’s going on, being able to articulate it from a young age and onward,” Bryant added.

In addition, healthcare marketers can help “teach women not to take certain answers, that you can push until you feel satisfied that you have the information you need to manage your health,” Daponte said.

McAteer noted a personal encounter with a physician who remarked that the most important thing she does is believe what her patients are telling her.

Diversifying healthcare

Diversity is critical in order to change misperceptions and ensure patients feel understood. “Having all levels of diversity, age and gender and more, will help more people relax and have important conversations,” Sampson said.

Diversity extends to language, experience and culture. It’s difficult to develop trust, “if somebody’s not able to communicate with you or talk to you on your level or in your language or have an understanding of where you come from and being able to advocate to a doctor,” Dickerson said.

A more diverse representation in research and studies will result in better patient outcomes. “If all the examples are caucasian male, it’s hard to understand how something will present in someone with a different skin color or different backgrounds,” Caulkins said.

Educating the next generation about diseases that impact their communities and “the social determinants of health — what that means, how what you eat impacts what you do, how there have been systemic things that impact people, communities, cultures way beyond their control and how to manage these things,” also has the potential to make a huge difference, Sampson said.

Inspiring the next generation

Finally, the group discussed how to amplify women’s voices and uplift the next generation in the workplace. As champions of their female colleagues, all of these women are actively supporting women.

“Don’t accept ceilings,” Caulkins advised. “Be brave in taking that chance somewhere else and not settling for where you’re at.”

When she first started working, McAteer shared that a colleague told her that “if you’re ripe, you’re rotting and if you’re green, you’re growing.” Those words stuck with her. “ Don’t feel like you need to have all of the answers,” she said. “I’ve continued to challenge myself as my career has gone on to always feel like I’m learning something and getting in that uncomfortable space.”

To Dickerson, the key is to “show up as your authentic self, bring that person to work, be your whole self.” The truth is when you do that, “you’re more satisfied on the inside and people are more motivated to be around you and believe in your leadership style,” she concluded.