Work

Research Funding for Women's Health: A Modeling Study of Societal Impact: Findings for Lung Cancer

Year: 2022

Type: book

Abstract: WHAM, whamnow.org, is a 501c3 dedicated to funding women's health research to transform women's lives.This report was conceived by WHAM in response to the considerable funding gap, historical exclusion, and under representation of women in health research.As businesswomen, we believed that a focused study showing the impact of accelerating sex and gender-based health research on women, their families and the economy by quantifying costs and economic benefits will be an invaluable accountability index.In other words, if more investment is made in women's health research the plausible assumption is that women would benefit from sex-specific prevention strategies, diagnoses and treatments that reduce their burden of disease and thus improve their well-being and hence the well-being of society.WHAM commissioned the RAND Corporation to conduct a data-driven study of the economic impact to society of increasing the investment in women's health research.This first research project comprises four disease modules: Alzheimer's Dementia, Rheumatoid Arthritis as representative of Autoimmune Disease, Coronary Artery Disease, and Lung Cancer as representative of cancer.In the future, we plan to study different socioeconomic groups to the extent that the data are available and detail the global data which expands this research.To the best of WHAM's and RAND's knowledge, this is the first analysis of its kind to create and calibrate a microsimulation model of investments in health R&D that examines differences for women's health research investment, and should become a seminal part of the arsenal in advocating for increased investment in women's health research.The research methodology and the microsimulation models have been vetted by a diverse panel of experts convened by RAND.We are so thankful for the dedicated, invested partnership of the research team at the RAND Corporation who conducted the analysis presented here and brought their findings to life.We encourage other leaders, including advocates, economists, scientists, business leaders, public health experts and policy makers to draw from and act upon the results of this report.Together, we can drive meaningful change. THE WHAM REPORTWHAM's leadership of this research project was encouraged through the generous support and collaboration from the following organizations:American Heart Association (AHA) is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives dedicated to ensuring equitable health for all-in the United States and around the world.AHA's signature women's initiative, Go Red for Women® (GRFW), has been the trusted, passionate, relevant force for change to end heart disease and stroke in women all over the world for nearly two decades.GRFW and WHAM will collaborate to directly address the lack of societal level evidence on the economic cost, benefits, and social impact due to the underrepresentation of women in cardiovascular research.BrightFocus Foundation is a leading source of private research funding to defeat Alzheimer's, macular degeneration and glaucoma.Supporting scientists early in their careers to kick-start promising ideas, BrightFocus addresses a full and diverse range of approaches from better understanding the root causes of the diseases and improving early detection and diagnosis, to developing new drugs and treatments.The nonprofit has a longstanding commitment to funding pioneering, sex-based research in Alzheimer's and related dementias.Connors Center for Women's Health and Gender Biology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School is a leading local and national force in advancing the health of women, with a rich history and strong foundation of women's health and sex-differences discovery, clinical care, and advocacy for equity in the health of women and is the Lead Scientific Research Partner of The WHAM Collaborative.The Connors Center shares the bold vision of improving the health of women and a commitment to joining forces to advance scientific discovery for the benefit of all women.GO2 for Lung Cancer (GO2) relentlessly confronts lung cancer on every front, every day.Founded by patients and survivors, GO2 is dedicated to increasing survival for those at risk, diagnosed and living with lung cancer.GO2 serves as the "go-to" for assistance across the care continuum and is the source for improving health policies and leading public awareness to shift the disease away from stigma to hope.The Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Service Act provides a foundation for WHAM and GO2 to engage in strong partnership to advance our shared goal of improving health outcomes for women.La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) is one of the top five research institutes in the world focused on the study of the immune system.LJI is home to three research centers that harness the efforts of collaborative groups of researchers on defined areas of inquiry, to accelerate progress toward the development of new treatments and vaccines to prevent and cure autoimmune conditions, cancer and infectious disease.Together, LJI and WHAM will create a framework for researchers to re-analyze existing data with sex as a biological variable, to work together to spark new projects, to hire new faculty to build key research areas, to communicate via The WHAM Report, and to establish an ignition point for new leadership in the scientific field. WHAM's LEAD COLLABORATORSPlease find additional infographics and social media toolkits on www.thewhamreport.orgThe technical specifications for the models are publicly available.

Source: RAND Corporation eBooks

DOI: 10.7249/wra708-4