Digital technologies can play a key role in ensuring that women are properly represented in pharma research and development
Pharmaceutical Executive: In what ways does the female patient experience differ from those of men?
Nicola Partridge: Ensuring access to healthcare remains a critical challenge in the U.S., and particularly as it concerns addressing disparities in women’s health. Research has shown a gap between the female patient experience compared to those of men. The term “women’s health” is often misinterpreted as solely reproductive health, but it is not limited to fertility and encompasses more.
Today, 5% of disease states1 are considered specific to women, and the remaining 95% can manifest differently in women biologically. There are a variety of disease areas that over-index with women. According to Women’s Health Access Matters, a more comprehensive overview of women’s health should be inclusive of:
Main Takeaways
- Ensuring access to healthcare remains a critical challenge in the U.S., and particularly as it concerns addressing disparities in women’s health.
- Digital solutions play a crucial role in addressing gaps in women's healthcare along the patient journey—from awareness and education to doctor visits, medication access and therapy adherence.
- The underrepresentation of women in clinical research data and clinical trial design includes disparities in enrollment as clinical trials frequently enroll fewer female participants resulting in a lack of knowledge on how treatments impact women.
- Exclusive conditions: While menopause and ovarian cancer are directly tied to reproductive health, they represent only a fraction of conditions affecting women overall. Menopause is a health milestone for billions worldwide. Some may also experience other health issues like cardiovascular disease or osteoporosis around or after menopause. Yet, there is a knowledge gap in menopause care, specifically the lack of education around the stages of a woman’s life, including menopause and perimenopause, compromising access to appropriate and timely care.
- Disproportionate conditions: Women account for approximately 80% of autoimmune disease patients2 and two thirds of Alzheimer’s disease patients.3 Chronic pain prevalence is also higher among women than men.
- Differential conditions: Even when experiencing the same conditions, symptoms, progression and outcomes vary by gender. Women are 50% more likely4 to die within a month following a heart attack than men, and non-smoking women are twice as likely5 to get lung cancer as non-smoking men.
- Social and cultural factors:Evidence shows6 women often delay starting treatment after diagnosis, leading to detrimental health outcomes. Balancing their own health, family health and other priorities can lead to delays in care, which can manifest in real and potentially harmful ways. Within IQVIA’s patient longitudinal data sets, there are several diseases where women over-index:
- Major Depressive Disorder
- Women make up 66% of active diagnoses but on average begin therapy 43.5 days after men.
- Moderate-to-Severe Asthma
- Women make up 62% of active diagnoses but on average begin therapy 24.4 days after men.
- Mitral Regurgitation—a strong early indicator of heart failure if untreated
- Women make up 61% but on average begin therapy a full two weeks after men.
To help close the women’s health gap over time, there must be more attention paid to the specific conditions that affect this population. Additionally, there must be concerted approaches to personalized healthcare for the female population, such as considerations in treatment plans to best suit the biological and physiological differences between men and women. Technology can also be used to improve the overall patient experience, such as developing digital tools that cater to women and their specific health needs and changes throughout their lives.
PE: How can digital solutions address gaps in women’s healthcare?
Partridge: Digital solutions play a crucial role in addressing gaps in women's healthcare along the patient journey— from awareness and education to doctor visits, medication access and therapy adherence.
- Digital marketing: Innovative approaches to consumer behavior and privacy-safe audience methodologies enable brands to meet relevant HCPs and consumers wherever they are consuming content. Digital HCP engagement triggered by research into copay options or access programs can help educate HCPs treating certain women’s conditions about patient access programs. Digital media and agencies can address disparities through thoughtful audience development, ad format creative and channel selection, ensuring continuous optimization of strategy.
- Digital tools: Healthcare practitioner (HCP) locators on websites help consumers find healthcare providers in specific geographies, specialties or services. For example, “find a doctor near you,” for a contraceptive implant helps women find HCPs for insertion. Telehealth services and at-home testing improve access to care for women who may lack time and resources due to their role as primary caregivers. Partnering with digital health companies can enhance adherence programs, providing reminders and incentives to help patients stay on therapy.
Using digital strategies, IQVIA Digital and Phreesia collaborated with Prevent Cancer Foundation on a digital awareness campaign7 designed to motivate women to get screened for breast cancer. Messaging was delivered at the point of care to raise awareness about individual risk factors and to promote timely screening and intervention. The impacts included more screenings (over 5,000 new-to-screening women underwent diagnostic tests), particularly in women aged 35-54, and reduced time-to-screening. Personalized educational digital messaging can drive faster adoption of diagnostic testing, addressing care disparities and enhancing survivability rates.
PE: In what ways are women underrepresented in clinical research data and trial design?
Partridge: Historically, women have been underrepresented in clinical trials, leading to gaps in medical knowledge and treatment efficacy. In fact, before 1993, women were rarely included8 in clinical trials due to reproductive health concerns. Today, women still tend to be underrepresented compared to men, with commonly cited barriers to participation including caregiving responsibilities, lack of awareness and logistical challenges.
Specifically, the underrepresentation of women in clinical research data and clinical trial design includes: disparities in enrollment as clinical trials frequently enroll fewer female participants resulting in a lack of knowledge on how treatments impact women; research focusing on conditions prevalent in men resulting in fewer studies on diseases that primarily affect women; clinical trial design bias may not consider sex-specific factors such as disease progression or how they are presented biologically in women; and a lack of diversity from minority groups, older women and pregnant individuals are often underrepresented in clinical research.
That said, there are significant opportunities to address these disparities with digital solutions, for example:
- Decentralized clinical trials: Telehealth and mobile apps enable participation from home, reducing travel and time burdens.
- Digital recruitment: Digital tools can identify and recruit underrepresented populations through targeted advertising and social media campaigns.
- Real-time data collection: Wearables and mobile health apps provide continuous health insights.
- Community engagement: Digital platforms foster trust and involvement among minority and underserved populations.
These digital solutions can help create more inclusive clinical research, leading to better treatment options for women and overall addressing access to healthcare.
Sources
- The WHAM Report. WHAM Now. https://whamnow.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/WHAM-report-011525.pdf
- The Prevalence of Autoimmune Disorders in Women: A Narrative Review. National Library of Medicine. May 13, 2020. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7292717/
- Women and Alzheimer's. Alzheimer’s Association. https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-alzheimers/women-and-alzheimer-s
- Women more likely to die after heart attack than men. European Society of Cardiology. May 22, 2023. https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/Women-more-likely-to-die-after-heart-attack-than-men
- Lung cancer in patients who have never smoked — an emerging disease. National Library of Medicine. April 12, 2024. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11014425/
- Investments addressing the women’s health gap could add years to life and life to years—and potentially boost the global economy by $1 trillion annually by 2040. McKinsey and Company. January 17, 2024. https://www.mckinsey.com/mhi/our-insights/closing-the-womens-health-gap-a-1-trillion-dollar-opportunity-to-improve-lives-and-economies
- Driving Early Detection: The Impact of Digital Point-of-Care Messaging on Breast Cancer Screening Rates. IQVIA. February 4, 2025. https://www.iqviadigital.com/resources/reports/driving-early-detection-the-impact-of-digital-point-of-care-messaging-on-breast-cancer-screening-rates?hsLang=en
- NIH Inclusion Outreach Toolkit: How to Engage, Recruit, and Retain Women in Clinical Research. National Institutes of Health. https://orwh.od.nih.gov/toolkit/recruitment/history
