The Women’s Health Clinic is partnering with the province to facilitate public consultations on women’s health issues, though some are skeptical that more consultations are the answer.

The results of these province-wide meetings will be developed into a new set of goals for the provincial government’s renewed Women’s Health Strategy.

“Women experience certain health conditions differently then men do,” said Joan Dawkins, executive director of the Women’s Health Clinic, a community health centre on Graham Avenue that is in charge of the consultations. “Having an effective system for everyone means we have to respond to these differences.”

“It’s important that the Manitoba Health Strategy responds not just to what we learn from a research report, but… also to the real experiences and opinions of women in the province,” Dawkins said.

Health Minister Theresa Oswald is confident these discussions with community groups and individuals will provide important direction to the new strategy.

“ It’s no accident that the health of people who live in the suburbs is better than those in the inner city.

Kim Bailey, Mount Carmel Clinic

“It will have a very direct influence in charting the course that we’re going to take in the next 10 years when it comes to women’s health,” Oswald said of the consultations.

“We want to make sure that we are plugged in to Manitoban women.”

But some are concerned that more consultation may clog the path to real change.

“Many relevant issues have been identified and I’m anxious to see tangible results,” said Kim Bailey, director of community services at Mount Carmel Clinic at 886 Main Street.

While she is appreciative of the government’s focus on women’s health, Bailey feels the scope of health services should be expanded. Mount Carmel Clinic adheres to the population health approach, a holistic way of understanding healthy communities.

From this perspective, a variety of factors affect health, including gender, culture, education and socio-economic status.

“Those kinds of things have a huge impact on a person’s actual health,” she said. “It’s no accident that the health of people who live in the suburbs is better than those in the inner city, in general.”

Bailey would like to see more efforts made in areas such as the creation of more social housing. Having a dignified place to live is a huge factor in the overall health of a community, she said.

To ensure representation in the provincial health strategy, Oswald seeks to consult a diverse group of women from varying backgrounds.

She agreed that women’s health needs to be looked at in a broad manner.

“When you have healthy women in a society you tend to have healthy families,” she said.

She hopes the consultations will help the government to consider the needs of women across the spectrum.

The Winnipeg consultation will take place Feb. 9, 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Norquay Building auditorium, 401 York Ave. Opinions can also be submitted at www.gov.mb.ca/health/women/whs.html.

Published in Volume 63, Number 18 of The Uniter (January 29, 2009)