SHE Women’s Health Forum
Research Nurse, Érin Collins, represented PCRNI at the SHE Women’s Health Forum 2026 at Parliament Buildings, 9th Sept 2026.
SHE – Reducing fragmentation in women’s health.
The SHE Outcomes and Recommendations Report is a post-forum paper, available on the SHE website https://www.shefacts.com/, which brings together the key themes, discussions and recommendations that emerged from the morning. The founder and organiser Ms. Precious Obasohan captured some of the conversations in the room and, more importantly, gives us something tangible to build on.
Health and government leaders met to discuss ‘Building a Women’s Health Strategy for Northern Ireland’ and ‘Women’s Health in Practice’. The main take home message was that it’s time for prompt action, with a need to move discussion into progress. The importance of research into women’s health such as endometriosis, menopause, periods, postnatal depression, postnatal anxiety, incontinence, contraception, caesarean section & induction rates, osteoporosis, gender pay gap, parttime work, postcode lottery, domestic violence, cancer effects on women’s bodies, and also other non-female specific items such as cardiovascular disease, all of which were very much to the fore of the discussions especially in relation to waiting times and clinical pathways.
MLA Claire Sugden spoke and formed part of a panel discussion; as did Minister for Public Health, Republic of Ireland, Jennifer Murnane O’ Connor providing valuable insight into the women’s strategy they put together a few years ago, 2020-2022.
Women suffering in silence, feeling unheard or not believed by healthcare professionals was a recurring theme of women’s shared experiences. Some of the panellists kindly shared their own health journeys for context, which deepened the understanding of the sensitive issues involved. The SHE Forum aimed to energise and materialise the campaign to make a Women’s Health Strategy in Northern Ireland a reality.
PCRNI continues to stay informed about current health issues in Northern Ireland, to ensure that Primary Care research is meaningful and inclusive, leading to better health outcomes for all.