New Report Reveals Alarming Decline in Women's Cancer Testing Worldwide
Women's cancer testing has declined globally, according to the latest Hologic Global Women's Health Index, one of the largest collections of data on women's health and well-being.
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Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX), a leading women's health innovator, partners with Gallup to create the Index. Now in its fourth year, the Index raises new concerns about declining trends in women's health. For the first time in the history of the Index, women's cancer testing declined: Only 10% of women surveyed worldwide said they were tested for any type of cancer in the past year, down two percentage points from the first two years of the Index.
This year's Index will be released today during an event convened by Goals House, a community focused on driving progress toward the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) alongside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The event will feature a panel including Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Dr. Sania Nishtar, CEO, Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance and Elissa Miolene, Global Development Reporter, Devex.
"Today's data reveal a worsening trend in women's health," said Stephen P. MacMillan, Chairman, President and CEO of Hologic. "The shocking decline in cancer testing is a wake-up call. Business as usual is not working. Innovative strategies and collaborative efforts are needed to make sustained improvements in women's health and well-being around the world."
Key findings from this year's Index:
- Cancer Screening Among Women Declined: Only 10% of women said they underwent any type of cancer testing in the past year, reflecting a decrease of two percentage points from the first two years of the survey.
- Women Are Struggling More to Meet Basic Needs: A staggering 38% of women reported being unable to afford food at some point in the past year, marking the highest level of food insecurity in nearly two decades. And 32% of women said they could not afford adequate shelter.
- More Women Are Worried and Sad: More women reported feeling worried (42%) and sad (30%) compared to Year 1 of the Index. And over one third (35%) said they felt unsafe in their communities.
- Ongoing Physical Pain and Health Issues: 34% of women reported experiencing significant pain the previous day, while 26% indicated that health problems impacted their ability to engage in everyday activities.
- HIV Testing Rates for Women Are Alarmingly Low: The Index assessed women's HIV testing for the first time and found concerning disparities: Less than 0.5% of women were tested in certain countries, primarily those in the Middle East and North Africa, and no country scored above 41%. Globally, the percentage is much lower. Just 6% of women — regardless of whether they visited a healthcare professional or were tested for STIs — said they were tested for HIV in the past year.
- Signs of Hope — Some Countries Are Making Progress: 28 countries saw meaningful increases in their Index scores since the first year of the Index, including Kazakhstan, Kenya, Poland and Venezuela.
The Index assigns a women's health score to each country or territory based on survey responses on five dimensions of health. Overall, the world scored 53 out of 100 on the Index in Year 4, reflecting no significant change since the Index started.
Taiwan led the world for the fourth consecutive year, scoring 68 out of a possible 100. Other top scores went to Kuwait (67), Austria (66) and Switzerland (65). The lowest scores went to Afghanistan (30), the Democratic Republic of Congo (34) and Chad (35). The United States scored 60 – on par with New Zealand (60) and Lithuania (60) – and fell seven places from its ranking in the third year of the Index to 37 out of 142 countries and territories.
The Index fills a critical gap in knowledge about the health, safety and well-being of women worldwide. Based on interviews with more than 146,000 women and men in 142 countries and territories, it represents the voices of 97% of the world's women and girls aged 15 and older.
To see the full Index and related resources, visit WomensHealthIndex.com.
About Hologic, Inc.
Hologic, Inc. is a global leader in women's health, dedicated to developing innovative medical technologies that effectively detect, diagnose and treat health conditions and raise the standard of care around the world. For more information on Hologic, visit www.hologic.com and connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
Hologic and The Science of Sure are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Hologic, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries.
About Gallup
Gallup delivers analytics and advice to help leaders and organizations solve their most pressing problems. Combining more than 80 years of experience with its global reach, Gallup knows more about the attitudes and behaviors of employees, customers, students and citizens than any other organization in the world.
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