Improving the health of women in Greater Manchester – webinar series
Through life-changing and award-winning research and innovation across Greater Manchester’s academic health and care ecosystem, we want to improve the health and care of every woman in Greater Manchester, and beyond.
During May and June 2025, we will be celebrating the collective success of the ‘One Greater Manchester’ research and innovation and NIHR infrastructure in women’s health, along with looking to the future to ensure we are addressing the needs of our population at a system level so that nobody is left behind.
Through a series of free weekly webinars, you will hear about the groundbreaking work already being undertaken in Greater Manchester, the positive impacts already felt by our people and communities, and the latest in cutting-edge research, policy and practice. Join us to explore how we can better understand and address the root causes of inequality to improve outcomes for all women in our city region.
Week 1: Webinar – Women’s Health Inequalities and Social Determinants of Health
Wednesday 28 May | 12:00 – 13:00
We’re kicking off our women’s health webinar series on International Women’s Health Day. Join us as we explore how structural inequalities, environment and lived experience shape women’s health outcomes across Greater Manchester. This session will feature powerful examples of research and practice.
Chair: Prof Arpana Verma
- Bridging the gap: faith as a social determinant of women’s health. Dr Omolade Allen
- Unpaid care as a public health concern: recognising its impact on women’s health and wellbeing. Dr Gemma Spiers
- The best decision I’ve made in years! Co-creating a women’s health hub with women experiencing homelessness. Liz Thomas
- Still Sick Of It: Health inequalities affecting deaf women. Kirsty Dix and Philipa Wynne
Week 2: Webinar – Reproductive Health and Maternal Wellbeing
Wednesday 4 June | 12:00–13:00
From menstruation to motherhood and beyond, this session shines a light on reproductive health and maternal wellbeing. Hear from local experts leading research and innovation to improve care, access and outcomes for women in our communities.
Chair: Prof Richard Edmondson
- Maternal working conditions and the effects on birth outcomes: sickle cell anaemia and racial health inequality among ethnic minority women, Dr Emma Kwegyir-Afful
- Barriers and facilitators to help-seeking for endometriosis and next steps for health improvement, Dr Jasmine Hearn
- Exploring factors influencing healthy lifestyle, weight and family planning for postnatal women, Dr Kylie Watson
Week 3: Webinar – Menopause, Hormonal Health, and Pelvic Wellbeing
Wednesday 11 June | 12:00–13:00
Breaking the silence around menopause, hormones, and pelvic health, this webinar explores the science, services and lived realities of conditions too often overlooked. Let’s talk about what needs to change and how we can get there together.
Chair: Dr Fiona Reid
- Self-management of pessaries for prolapse, Dr Lucy Dwyer
- Barriers to localised oestrogen treatment for urinary tract infections in postmenopausal women living in residential care settings, Dr Annemarie Money
- Women’s health in rare inherited metabolic diseases Dr Karolina Stepien
Week 4: Webinar – Cancer and Chronic Disease Prevention and Management
Wednesday 18 June | 12:00–13:00
This session takes a closer look at the prevention, early detection and management of cancer and chronic disease in women, bringing together cutting-edge research and practical innovation from across Greater Manchester. We’ll dive into local efforts to prevent, detect and manage illness earlier and explore how research is driving real-world impact and closing gaps in care for women. Register here.
Chair: Dr Sacha Howell
- Exploring the barriers to cervical screening and perspectives on new self-sampling methods amongst under-served groups, Stephanie Gillibrand
- Urine self-sampling for cervical screening: the Alternative Cervical Screening (ACES) studies, Prof Emma Crosbie
- RADBONE, Dr Claire Higham
- Novel technologies to detect heart valve disease in women, Dr Kim Kirby
Week 5: Webinar – Health Policy and Prevention
Wednesday 25 June | 12:00–13:00
In our final webinar, we focus on the bigger picture: policy, prevention and system-wide change. Hear how research is influencing practice and what more we can do to embed women’s health in every part of our health and care system.
Chair: Prof Arpana Verma
- The Women’s Health Strategy: understanding women’s experiences and priorities for their health care (visiting), Prof Jane McDermott
- Women of the North Report – Alexis Derby
- GM Women’s Health Strategy – Elaine Mills
Following this webinar series, we will be hosting several in-person events bringing together our vast health, care and life sciences ecosystem, including community partners, researchers, policy makers, and health and care practitioners, to explore together how we work to achieve better health and wellbeing for women in Greater Manchester. Please look out for further details on these events soon.