Women’s Health Victoria report on gender equity in cancer care

The VICS are proud to have contributed to the research behind an important new report led by Women’s Health Victoria (WHV), highlighting opportunities to strengthen gender equity across the cancer care continuum.

The VICS welcome the report’s recommendations and recognise the importance of considering how gender influences access to care, healthcare experiences, treatment decision-making, survivorship, and outcomes for people affected by cancer. Achieving meaningful and sustainable change requires collaboration across the cancer sector – including continued efforts to improve data collection, understand the experiences of diverse populations, and address barriers that contribute to inequitable outcomes.

We thank WHV for giving 2 of our regional Integrated Cancer Services the opportunity to influence the report’s direction, through their involvement on the project advisory group. This ensured the voice of regional Victoria was heard during the report’s development.

The VICS look forward to working alongside WHV, our 112 member health services, people with lived and living experience of cancer, and other stakeholders to support the goals of the Victorian cancer plan and contribute to a more equitable cancer system for all Victorians.

For example, our VICS Optimal Care Summits program identifies and addresses variation in care through collaborative engagement with clinicians, consumers, health services, and system partners. We are encouraged by the WHV’s recommendation that quality improvement activities, including our Optimal Care Summits, incorporate a gender lens when examining patient experiences, service delivery and outcomes. The VICS Optimal Care Summits program will continue to explore opportunities to strengthen consideration of gender equity within summit planning, data interpretation, consumer engagement, and the development of improvement priorities.