Rejected and depressed: Survey examines women’s health in the Maritimes
The results of the survey, the first of its kind in the Maritimes, paint a bleak picture of women censoring their health concerns amid patterns of dismissal and bias within the health care system.
The IWK Foundation launched the survey earlier this year in hopes of better understanding the health experiences of women in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
Jennifer Gillivan, president and CEO of the foundation, said she expected to receive about 2,000 responses. He received more than 27,000.
“They’re speaking loud and clear,” Gillivan said in an interview.
The survey revealed that 75 percent of women admitted that when they do seek care, they delay or avoid care altogether due to internal conflict out of fear that they will be judged, dismissed, or labeled “difficult.”
“So they’re actually delaying care, which is not helpful because by the time they get help, they’re more seriously ill,” she said.
Nearly one in five women said they were in crisis and felt deprived in terms of communication and feeling cared for.
The top health issues prioritized by women were menopause, hormonal health and perimenopause.
According to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, for decades, women’s health issues have been under-researched, leading to disparities in health outcomes, gaps in access to care, and cases of misdiagnosis and underdiagnosis.
“It’s an unavoidable period of a woman’s life. And if you look at the entire period from perimenopause to postmenopause, you’re looking at a good 30 years,” Gillivan said.
“There is no training in the system for this. And they themselves have no knowledge of that area.”
The executive summary of the survey included this comment from one respondent: “I feel on a personal level that I don’t know a lot about my body, its reproductive system, and what is considered ‘normal’.”
Many women also prioritized chronic and often invisible health concerns such as stress, anxiety, depression, and the physical and emotional effects of caregiving.
‘to carry the burden’
The summary states that it is clear that social pressures, caregiving roles, financial stress and lack of knowledge all combine to create invisible barriers to well-being.
“Women are carrying a lot of the burden of our society. They’re taking care of their children. They’re taking care of adults, older people in their families. They’re still trying to work and make a living,” Gillivan said.
86 percent of the respondents said that significant changes are needed to improve women’s health.
Gillivan said the survey will help serve as a blueprint for that.
He said the foundation has met with provincial health officials from all three Maritime provinces and they have shown “real interest.”
It will also help guide foundation donors toward top issues that need more research.
Gillivan said they are engaging both public and private stakeholders to communicate the survey’s findings.
The findings probably aren’t surprising to many women, Gillivan said, but they nevertheless confirm in black and white what they often discuss over kitchen tables and coffee.
She said, “If we don’t have healthy, strong women, we don’t have a healthy, strong society. It’s just that.” “I really believe it with all my heart.”
The Foundation is a non-profit organization that raises funds to support the IWK Health Centre, a major hospital in Halifax that provides care to women, youth and children from the Maritime provinces.
The survey was conducted by Crestview Strategy between July 2 and 31, 2025, and was open to women in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI, with a total of 27,317 responses analyzed.
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