Ecuadorian women consider that they do not receive quality care or treatment to fight their diseases, according to a study published by Roche.
Ecuadorian women do not trust the health system and only 34% consider that they receive good quality care and proper treatment in the country’s hospitals.
This is one of the conclusions of the ‘Project X’ study presented by the pharmaceutical company Roche on May 3, 2023, in which more than 1,000 women from all over the country participated.
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The document also points out that 72% of women have difficulty getting a medical appointment. Mainly, because of the lack of economic resources, but also because of the lack of time and the work that must be done at home.
According to the document, women are “50% more likely to be misdiagnosed with a disease than men. And 65% consider that doctors do not take their pain seriously.
In women with cancer, these factors are serious, with research showing that 73% receive an actual diagnosis when the disease progresses to stage three or four. That is, when there is some possibility of effective treatment.
In addition, half of the girls and teenagers stop their treatment because of the lack of medicine in hospitals or because their parents can’t afford them.
According to the organization Youth Against Cancer, the types of cancer with the highest prevalence in women are:
Women, responsible for health
Roche’s study ensures that the Government must pay more attention to the health problems women suffer from. According to the study, 90% of them make health care decisions and are responsible for 80% of household health expenses.
In addition, they spend up to 40 hours a week caring for the elderly and children under the age of three.
“There is a serious problem and the health system believes that women’s health is limited to sexual and reproductive problems,” says Fernando Giannoni, Manager Roche for Latin America.
“This way of looking at health must change in the shortest possible time because women continue to neglect their health because of their responsibilities at home.”
Álvaro Maldonado, executive president of the pharmaceutical research industry, added that the country must migrate from a curative health policy to a preventive policy, which reduces the number of deaths from preventable diseases.
