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Approximately 25,000 people in the UK die each year from venous thromboembolism (VTE); furthermore, VTE affects 1 in 100,000 women of childbearing age and causes one-third of all maternal deaths. Thrombophilia, pregnancy and the use of oral oestrogens can all place women at increased risk of VTE when compared with other individuals. University of Glasgow researchers quantified the probability of VTE among at-risk women and analysed the benefits and cost-effectiveness of thrombophilia screening. Their research is cited in the recommendations and evidence bases of leading national and international clinical guidelines. This work also galvanised an overhaul of VTE prevention policy within NHS Scotland by emphasising the need for regional health boards to implement and audit standardised in-house protocols and provide accessible patient information on VTE.
The Million Women Study of 1.3 million UK women over the age of 50, coordinated by the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at Oxford, has established the relationship between hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancer, and has had a dramatic effect on HRT prescription patterns and prescription guidelines worldwide. This has had a major impact on women's health. Prior to the study, one third of UK women aged 50-64 were using HRT. The marked decline in HRT use following publication of the study's findings has led to a reduction in the incidence of breast cancer among menopausal women.
Allwood's research into Women and Politics has looked at women's participation in mainstream and alternative forms of political activity; gender and policy, focusing on prostitution, violence and abortion policy; and the political participation of refugee women. The research has informed government advisory panels, think-tanks, and NGOs, in particular in debates around gender quotas and the relationship between gender and democracy. External voices and actors have helped shape the research process, and the audience of this research has made material and distinct decisions based on new insights effectively shared, as demonstrated by citations of research outputs in policy documents and discussion papers.
Research by Dr Garikipati identifies that microfinance is most beneficial to women when it enables them to enhance their livelihoods and participate in the local enterprise economy. It also shows that over 80% of the microfinance loans in Andhra Pradesh, India, did not meet these conditions. Using these research findings, Dr Garikipati directly lobbied the Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP). This has had an impact on governmental organisations and other stakeholders within the microfinance industry and lead to the introduction of the Livelihood Enhancement Plan (LEP), which is used at the time of loan application. Dr Garikipati collaborated with the GoAP in designing and implementing the LEP. It impacts 500,000 women per year who join the microfinance program and enables them to enhance livelihoods in keeping with the demands of the local economy.
This case study is based on two areas of research, both focused on young women's sexual health, conducted by Hoggart and Newton between 2009 and 2013. The first concerns abortion, and the second concerns long-acting reversible contraception (hereafter LARC). The research has had the following impacts: sexual health policy has been influenced; the delivery of sexual health service has changed; guidelines have been informed; practitioners have used the research findings; new clinical processes have been adopted; professional training has been influenced by the research; and industry has invested in research.
Research started by Professor Joni Lovenduski in 1992 and developed with Dr Rosie Campbell since 2003, influenced both policies about party political representation of women and the understandings of women's role in politics of party officials and activists. Showing that political recruitment, representation and participation are highly gendered — masculine — processes, Lovenduski and Campbell have successfully challenged the attitudes and contributed to changing processes that determine political equality between women and men. Both are routinely consulted about policy on political representation by political parties, UK government and parliament, the EU, and national and international organisations.
The findings of empirical research conducted by Professor Jim Barry and Dr Trudie Honour of UEL were shared at two focused capacity building sessions held in 2008 and 2009 for women leaders in middle and senior positions of responsibility and decision-making in the public and third sectors of a number of developing countries. Workshops were attended by women from Albania, Bahrain, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Tunisia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. Participants considered the relevance and application of the research findings for their own countries, and worked together and with the researchers to formulate potential capacity development implementation strategies for women in positions of responsibility in those countries.
Critical historical, empirical and theoretical research on women offenders is deeply embedded in the culture of criminology at Keele. Research undertaken by Anne Worrall and colleagues at Keele since 1993 (and for a decade before) has contributed towards changing attitudes and practice in the treatment of women offenders locally, nationally and internationally. The impact of our research is long-standing and has been sustained across several generations of researchers. Its significance lies in our ability to challenge conventional wisdom about women offenders, inform and stimulate practitioner debate, influence CPD, influence practice for a specific group, improve access to justice and give a voice to those affected by our research.
This case study is underpinned by research carried out within a Leverhulme Trust International Network award on Women and Union Leadership. The case demonstrates three sets of impact: (1) engagement of Professor Kirton to advise the probation service union Napo on changing policy and practices to improve women's representation in the union's leadership and decision-making structures; (2) career development, activist development and new networking opportunities for women union leaders/activists in the UK and USA; and (3) increased action on improving women's representation in unions and raising greater awareness (including lobbying through Motion 26, TUC 2011) of the pressing importance for union renewal of correcting women's under-representation in union leadership in UK and USA unions.
Pre-pregnancy care (PPC) significantly reduces the risk of poor pregnancy outcomes among women with diabetes. Yet, lack of awareness has resulted in poor participation, with two thirds of women receiving suboptimal PPC (CEMACH, 2007).
An innovative preconception counselling resource (DVD/website) to inform women about PPC and improve pregnancy outcomes is embedded in routine care in Northern Ireland and beyond since 2010. The UK's first widely distributed multimedia preconception counselling resource for women with diabetes is already having a significant impact on pregnancy planning. In early evaluation results 76% of all pregnant women with diabetes in Northern Ireland reported receiving PPC.