Women's health is public health

The State of Female Reproductive Health in Canada: Gaps, Gains, and the Path Forward by Dr. Erin Brennand

This session will provide a panoramic overview of reproductive health in Canada, highlighting:

• Disparities in reproductive health indicators
• Underfunding of research and care in areas such as pelvic pain, menopause, and prolapse
• The differing roles of federal vs. provincial policy in shaping access to contraception, abortion, fertility care, and surgical services
• Missed opportunities for national benchmarking and coordinated investment

Keynote: Perpetually Potentially Pregnant by Dr. Alana Cattapan
Moderated by Dr. Erin Brennand

This keynote will explore how women and gender-diverse people are viewed through a reproductive lens throughout their lives, and how this affects health care delivery and surveillance. Topics include:

• Reproductive governance and control over bodies
• The impacts of being treated as ‘potentially pregnant’ on clinical care and policy design
• How this framing works to silo reproductive health from other aspects of healthcare
• Policy implications of moving beyond a fertility-centric health model

Panel: What We Measure, We Change: Data Gaps in Reproductive Health
Featuring: Dr. Laura Schummers, Dr. Alana Cattapan, Dr. Amy Johnston, Dr. Natalie Scime and Dr. Amy Metcalfe. Moderated by Dr. Amity Quinn

This session will explore how the absence of measurement tools hinders improvement and funding in reproductive health. Topics include:

• Lack of national indicators for conditions like menopause, prolapse, infertility, and contraception access
• Waitlist dashboards and surgical utilization metrics – who is prioritized and why?
• How decisions about what is considered “core” care shape access and funding
• Opportunities to improve surveillance at the provincial and federal levels

Rapid-fire presentations & panel: Female Reproductive Health Access for Vulnerable Groups
Featuring: Dr. Annalee Coakley, Lana Bentley, Dr. Alan Santinele Martino and Dr. Lauren Walker. Moderated by Dr. Rabiya Jalil

This session unpacks the complex barriers vulnerable groups face in accessing reproductive health care. Topics include:

• Delayed health card eligibility and gaps in interim coverage for newcomers
• Language and cultural mismatches in understanding contraception, menopause, and prenatal care
• Reproductive health misinformation within newcomer communities
• Histories of trauma including sexual violence, coercion, or FGM, and the need for trauma-informed care
• Gender sensitivity
• Barrier for people living with disability
• Equity-focused policy proposals to close the access gap

Health Policy and Women’s Reproductive Health in Canada by Dr. Laura Schummers
Moderated by Dr. Kirsten Fiest 

An in-depth look at how health policy shapes access to reproductive health services across the country. Topics include:

• Impacts of contraception coverage on contraception use and method choice across Canada: The case for universal contraception coverage
• How public drug plans vary across provinces and their impact on equitable access and patient costs
• Contraception access for rural and remote communities
• The implications of lack of access on rates of abortion, teen pregnancy, and maternal health outcomes
• Opportunities to integrate contraception into primary care and pharmacy models more effectively
• Coverage for menopause hormone therapy: contraception revisited?
• Fertility, age at first birth, and need for assisted reproductive technology: provincial variability in coverage. Who is left behind? 

Rapid-fire presentations & panel: Menopause as a Public Health Priority: Why It’s Time
Featuring: Dr. Amity Quinn, Dr. Rebecca Manion and Dr. Nicole Culos-Reed. Moderated by Dr. Jamie Benham 

This closing session reframes menopause not as a private inconvenience but a public health issue with far-reaching consequences. Topics include:

• The economic and productivity costs of untreated menopausal symptoms
• Exploring the long-term health consequences  of menopause such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive decline
• Unequal access to evidence-based care, hormone therapy, and specialty clinics
• How public health frameworks can support better surveillance, funding, and care pathways