Inquiry into Women's Pain submissions

Context

It is well established that women and men experience pain differently and respond differently to pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain interventions. Chronic pain affects a higher proportion of girls and women than men around the world; however, women are less likely to receive treatment. Research has also shown that women generally experience more recurrent pain, more severe pain, and longer lasting pain than men. Moreover, there are types of pain that impact women disproportionately, such as musculoskeletal, abdominal, head and neck pain. Persistent pelvic pain is another condition and is estimated to affect between 15 and 25% of women and is rarely spoken about. It is estimated that pelvic pain costs Australians more than $6 billion annually in direct costs.

Women face real and enduring challenges when seeking care and support for pain. At nearly every level of healthcare, men's health claims are treated as the default. In comparison, girls and women’s claims are often viewed as a-typical, exaggerated, and even completely fabricated. Women are adversely impacted as they lose time, money, and their lives trying to navigate a healthcare system designed for and around men. Medical gender bias routinely leads to a denial of pain and therefore pain relief and associated treatment for female patients. This occurs for a range of health conditions including cardiovascular, neurological, reproductive, and autoimmune conditions.

It is important that as a state we understand what best care is for girls and women by hearing and acknowledging what their views and experiences are and learning from exemplar clinical practice. In 2023-24, the Victorian Government committed $159.3 million as part of the Women’s Health Reform Program to change the way women’s health issues are treated and includes an inquiry into women’s pain. Established in September 2023, the Victorian Women's Health Advisory Council will provide independent expert advice to government on implementation of the program. The Council will be supported by the Inquiry into Women’s Pain Sub-Committee that will guide delivery of the Inquiry into Women’s Pain, led by Safer Care Victoria.

Purpose

To conduct an inquiry into women’s pain in Victoria that will provide an opportunity for the experiences of girls and women to be heard and acknowledged. The inquiry will report on these experiences and ensure that they inform the inquiry’s understanding of systemic issues and solutions that will form the basis for improved patient care.

Scope

The Inquiry will report on Victorian girls and women from 12 years of age with living and lived experience of pain and consider opportunities to improve access to treatment and care.

It will:

1. provide an opportunity for girls and women from across our community to share their experiences of pain and pain management in their own words, and for these experiences to be heard and
2. listen to the experience of girls, women and clinicians to identify the barriers and enablers when accessing care, treatment and services for pain
3. describe the impact of the current service delivery system on care for pain
4. identify opportunities to improve the care, treatment and services for pain
5. consider appropriate models of care, service delivery frameworks, workforce skill mix, and other areas requiring change.
6. translate research and evidence-based interventions that address unwarranted sex and gender variations and improve the equity of outcomes relating to the access and efficacy of pain

The Inquiry will explore the areas above by:

• applying an intersectional lens when listening to, and acknowledging individual’s experiences of pain, including those living with chronic and persistent conditions, such as endometriosis, migraine, fibromyalgia, and other types of
• consulting with clinicians, service organisations and stakeholders involved in the care, detection, diagnostics, treatment, and support of those living with pain

This process will be facilitated through:

• submissions from community and sector stakeholders
• survey of girls and women with lived experience and healthcare workers
• community consultations with girls, women, healthcare workers and key

The Sub-Committee will deliver a final report of the Inquiry into Women’s Pain to the Victorian Women’s Health Advisory Council by December 2024. The Inquiry report will include recommendations to inform improved models of care and service delivery for Victorian girls and women experiencing pain in the future.

The Department of Health (the Department) is inviting written submissions from the Victorian community and stakeholders for the purposes of informing the Inquiry into Women's Pain in Victoria (Inquiry). The Inquiry will provide an opportunity for the experiences of girls 12 years and over and women to be heard and acknowledged, report on these experiences and inform the Inquiry's understanding of systemic issues and solutions that will form the basis for recommendations to improve existing models of care and healthcare service delivery for girls and women in Victoria.

The Department is committed to protecting your privacy as part of this process. The Department will collect and handle your information in accordance with the requirements of the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic), Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and Public Records Act 1973 (Vic).

Your submission will be kept confidential. Submissions will not be responded to individually. The Department may contact you for further details if necessary to process your submission but will only do so if you have agreed to be contacted in the Submission Form.

The Department acknowledges the need to protect privacy of minors. Accordingly, if you are under the age of 18, the Submission Form should be completed by a parent or legal guardian.

The submissions will be aggregated and analysed to generate summaries of key findings for the purposes of the Inquiry report and recommendations.

You are not asked to provide identifying information in your submission. Any identifying information you do provide, such as names, health service providers, contact details, will not be shared or used in reporting. You are asked not to include any identifying information relating to other individuals.

The Department will not attempt to link any unit-level data collected from submissions with any other unit-level data.

De-identified and aggregated information from submissions may be shared with third-party analysts for the purposes of informing the Inquiry. Identifiable personal information will not be shared with third party analysts.

Quotes or excerpts from responses may be used in the Inquiry public report and other materials used by the Department and other departments and agencies in the Victorian Government to support the Women's Health and Wellbeing Program

The Department will take all reasonable steps to de‑identify any quotes or excerpts used. (Note that individual researchers, groups and organisations who expressly wish and consent to have their name appear with quotes or excerpts from their submissions used in public reports, may indicate this in the Submission Form.)

For more information on the Department's collection and handling of personal and health information, please refer to the department's privacy policy.

The Department can be contacted by emailing WomensHealth@health.vic.gov.au You may contact the department to request access to any personal information that the department holds about you. You can also contact the Department's Privacy Unit by emailing privacy@health.vic.gov.au or by telephone on 1300 024 759.

Please note that once you provide your submission, you will be unable to change the information you have provided. We ask that you please read your submission carefully before submitting it.

By providing your submission, you acknowledge that you have read and understood all the information detailed in this collection notice and agreed to provide your submission.