Women's health

Despite significant medical advancements, women’s health remains under-researched and underfunded. Women experience unique health challenges across the lifecourse, yet many conditions remain poorly understood or lack tailored prevention, diagnosis and management strategies.

Key women’s health issues in Ireland

  • Obesity and reproductive health: 1 in 5 women of reproductive age live with obesity in Ireland, which has significant implications for reproductive health, pregnancy outcomes, and intergenerational health.
  • Infertility: 1 in 6 couples in Ireland experience infertility, yet a significant proportion of women are unable to access public fertility treatments.
  • Endometriosis: It is estimated that 155,000 women are affected by endometriosis in Ireland; however, on average, it takes nine years to receive a diagnosis.
  • Gestational diabetes: Affects 1 in 7 pregnant women in Ireland, increasing the future risk of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
  • Women with disabilities: Over 300,000 women with disabilities living in Ireland.
  • Mental health: Young women in Ireland have the highest levels of negative mental health. One-third of adolescent females diet regularly and are dissatisfied with their bodies. Anxiety and depression are common during and after pregnancy, while rates of depression are consistently higher in older women than in older men.
  • Cardiovascular health: Heart disease and stroke cause 26% of all female deaths in Ireland.
  • Period poverty: 1 in 2 girls in Ireland have challenges affording period products.
  • Menopause: Menopause brings significant health risks, including a higher likelihood of osteoporosis and heart disease, yet research in Ireland is limited.
  • Breast cancer: Each year, almost 3,600 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in Ireland, accounting for 30% of all cancer diagnoses.
  • Pregnancy loss: Around 60,000 women in Ireland experience recurrent miscarriage annually, and more than 800 women experience ectopic pregnancies

Women’s Health Research Network

The Irish Government's Women’s Health Action Plan seeks to address some of these disparities and establish priorities for improving women's health outcomes in Ireland. Aligning with the national strategic vision to prioritise women's health and enhance health services and supports, there is a critical need to increase research capacity to produce reliable evidence that informs policy. The Women's Health Research Network in the School of Population Health at RCSI aims to support this national vision by promoting and advancing research dedicated to women's health.

What do we do?

To address these gaps, RCSI has set up a Women’s Health Research Network in the School of Population Health. The network consists of a multidisciplinary team of researchers working together to improve women’s health. Our research focuses on:

The maternal health research stream focuses on improving health outcomes for women during preconception, pregnancy and postpartum. Dr Aisling Walsh leads research on the health of women with pre-existing conditions, such as epilepsy and cystic fibrosis. She is currently leading an HRB Applied Partnership Award, co-developing health information resources for women with epilepsy from preconception through postpartum.

Prof. Kathleen Bennett conducts research in the use and effects of medicine. Her current research includes valproate utilisation trends among women of childbearing potential and evaluating the impact of Ireland’s free contraceptive scheme on oral contraceptive use.

Dr Angela Flynn leads research on maternal metabolic health, focusing on improving outcomes for women at high metabolic risk, including those living with obesity and those who develop diabetes during pregnancy. She is currently leading a Wellcome Trust-funded study aimed at reducing gestational diabetes in women with obesity, while other projects include optimising preconception and postpartum health. Additionally, Dr Flynn is leading research on hyperemesis gravidarum, to examine the impacts of severe pregnancy sickness on physical and mental health and to co-develop resources to support women experiencing severe pregnancy sickness during and after pregnancy.

The cancer in women stream focuses on research providing evidence on cancer prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment and survivorship in different cancer types, but also those mainly affecting women.

Prof. Kathleen Bennett’s research interests are in cancer survivorship, and cancer pharmacoepidemiology, utilising existing data resources, including the National Cancer Registry Ireland. Prof. Bennett, Dr Maeve Mullooly and Dr Mengyang Zhang conduct research on the impact of COVID-19 on cancer services and outcomes, including patterns of screening, care and outcomes pre-COVID, during and post-COVID, particularly in relation to breast cancer screening, referral, diagnosis and treatment.

Dr Mullooly’s research interests are in cancer prevention and cancer survivorship and include understanding the role of risk factors. Her research also includes the investigation of pre-cancerous lesions and their role in cancer development.

Dr Caitriona Cahir’s research interests include investigating and understanding the influence of social determinants of health on women with breast cancer and the impact of these determinants on women’s health and overall well-being. She is also working with colleagues in the UK to develop a mobile/web-based application (HT&Me) to support endocrine therapy medication taking behaviour in women with breast cancer.

Dr Maria Pertl’s research interests are in cancer survivorship, in particular mental health among women diagnosed with cancer and the impact and treatment of cancer-related fatigue, fear of cancer recurrence, anxiety and depression among patients living with and beyond cancer.

Dr Dominika Bhatia’s research interests are in chronic disease epidemiology and prevention in women across the life course, with a focus on diabetes and cancer. She has conducted studies using linked population-based administrative data and policy stakeholder-commissioned evidence reviews related to understanding participation, reducing disparities and implementing innovations in organised cancer screening programmes, as well as measurement of cancer processes and outcomes for monitoring and evaluation.

The mental health research stream, led by Prof. Mary Clarke, examines the impact of factors during the perinatal period such as pregnancy complications, parental mental health and birth outcomes, on the mental health of women and children. Prof. Clarke’s work has been funded by the HRB and programme grants.

Dr Maria Pertl is interested in the impact of caregiving on mental health. In particular, her research examines health and well-being, and the contributing factors to these, among caregivers of people living with dementia and among people who have and care for children with Down Syndrome.

Dr Iryna Mazhak is conducting research on the physical, mental, and social health of Ukrainian female refugees settled in Ireland, with a focus on exploring their coping strategies and healthcare needs. She has also performed a psychometric validation of a psychological tool to identify specific aspects of mental health, such as perceived stress, depression, anxiety and PTSD. This study is supported by MSCA4Ukraine.

RCSI has a long-standing history in gender research under the leadership of Prof. Hannah McGee, a pioneering academic who spearheaded numerous initiatives exploring how gender influences health outcomes and access to healthcare, with a particular emphasis on the unique needs of women. The ground-breaking whole-population study Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland (SAVI) report released in 2002 laid bare the scale of sexual abuse and sexual violence in Ireland, giving a voice to generations of those impacted, as well as providing a critical baseline for further research. Prof. McGee has been a strong advocate for gender equity in academic research, particularly in how women are represented and supported within the research community.

Dr Noreen O’Leary is building on this evidence base through a collaborative, cross-institutional project, implementing gender-informed workload allocation models to support women in academia, aimed at advancing gender equity within Irish higher education institutions.

Dr Olga Cleary has a particular research interest in gender equity in academic health research having contributed to two international reviews in this field. Global evidence of gender equity in academic health research: a scoping review examines global trends in gender disparities within the field of academic health research. Additionally, Interventions on gender equity in the workplace: a scoping review explores strategies to address gender disparities in professional environments.

Dr Hannah Christie researches the role of gender in informal care for neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia and stroke, from an intersectional perspective, including how support can be improved to support intersectional, gender-related needs in caregiving.

Eunice Phillip is examining the intersection of health inequalities and social determinants of health in the community such as disparities of household air pollution and carers burden, single parenthood (often higher in women), with the primary focus on enhancing capacity building through participatory methods to improve overall health and well-being.

Dr Caroline Kelleher’s research and academic interests include sexual health, gender-based violence, gender-diversity, sexuality and reproductive education and sexual consent.

The body image research stream aims to strengthen collaboration among body image researchers both nationally and internationally. Alongside other networks, such as the Body Image Research Network, the goal is to raise the profile of body image research within Ireland.

Dr Jade Parnell and Catherine Caro lead this section and are currently investigating the interplay between body image and maternal health. Dr Parnell completed her PhD at the Centre for Appearance Research in the UK. Her background is in appearance psychology and body image, with specific interests in the role of stigma and social media in shaping the experiences of young people and women. Dr Parnell has developed and evaluated a number of health interventions to promote diversity and increase self-esteem.

Catherine Caro is currently pursuing a PhD in optimising preconception health of women with previous gestational diabetes, and alongside Dr Parnell is conducting research on the experiences and perceptions of body image during pregnancy and postpartum, aiming to better understand the factors influencing women's health during these important life stages.