Insight
Bridging the gap: How can design research drive better healthcare outcomes for women?
By Hollie Johnston, Principal – Human Factors & Research at PDD, a global product and experience consultancy
It can no longer be argued that there is a data gap in women’s healthcare – with most available data historically biased towards men.
The underrepresentation of women in clinical research, often due to complexities of hormonal cycles has led to a lack of knowledge about drug impact on women.
Minimal research into support solutions for those suffering from endometriosis — which affects roughly 10 per cent (190 million) of reproductive-age women and girls globally — or the lack of consideration for physiological differences in load-bearing that lead to higher failure rates of certain hip implants in women than men, are just a few examples of how healthcare systems, shaped by incomplete data, have failed to address women’s specific needs, with consistent negative impacts on healthcare outcomes.
This data gap has huge implications for developing healthcare products, systems, and services.
It reinforces everyday experiences of bias and leads to unconscious bias when relying on Big Data. As AI technologies that emulate human intelligence and problem-solving capabilities advance, the risk of perpetuating inequality through incomplete and inaccurate datasets grows.
Designing better for women
As Caroline Criado Perez beautifully puts it in her book Invisible Women, “When designing, we need a woman in the room”.
From a design research perspective, this means considering the abilities, actions, and opinions of the intended user profile throughout the development process.
Even with the best of intentions, we cannot live another person’s experiences nor physically put ourselves in their shoes. If we tried, our conclusions would naturally be based on our experiences and understanding (inherent experience bias).
Including those with lived experience is a priority when planning research, not least when it comes to designing for women.
Consider a chronic condition such as endometriosis, which has a significant impact on the lives of sufferers.
Symptoms can vary from painful menstrual cramps and heavy menstrual bleeding, through to fatigue, and inability to get pregnant.
Symptoms can vary in type and severity over time – both during a monthly cycle, and over life stages.
Only by immersing ourselves in the lives and experiences of these women over an extended period can researchers and designers hope to understand the complexity of their needs, and therefore develop innovative and practical solutions that truly address them.
The woman in the room: Participant identification
As practitioners, delivering inclusive, user-driven solutions is at the heart of what we do.
A key component of development is identifying the correct stakeholders, identifying their needs and validating potential solutions with them.
This is where it becomes tricky.
On paper, proportional representation (where the proportion of participants recruited reflects the current real-world status) might seem like a valid method when recruiting.
In reality, in areas currently male-dominated, such as when researching ergonomics for cardiac surgeons, the needs and requirements of a much smaller female cohort would be significantly diluted, with potentially negative consequences in terms of device, system and service usability for women.
Therefore, participants should be selected on a case-by-case basis, using proportional representation as a starting point rather than a standard.
Building the stage: Study Setup
There are many ways to conduct design research and the method chosen should be relevant to the investigation topic. For example, evaluating a surgical tool might be best done in a surgical setting (or simulation lab).
Similarly, the setup of the evaluation should consider who is being evaluated.
Alzheimer’s, for example, is a disease that can be exacerbated by stress or change – such as the introduction of new people, activities, or equipment, all factors which are relevant to a research study.
When it comes to gender and sex, cultural and social factors might also be at play.
It may be inappropriate in some cultures, for example, for a woman to attend a solo face-to-face session or to speak to strangers about intimate health matters.
Study methodology is, therefore, critical to success.
When designing study methodology, it is important to consider not only technical objectives but also user profiles to ensure all demographics are adequately represented and evaluation methods do not negatively impact participation or study results.
Questioning your Insights: Translation & Analysis
Gathering the data is only one part of the puzzle; just as important is how we translate it and incorporate it into the development cycle to create actionable insights and form parameters for idea generation and selection.
At this stage it is all-too easy to fall back on assumptions and internal ‘knowledge’.
Instead, we should assess all ideas against the findings of our research to ensure they are grounded in actual user needs.
We must interrogate those ideas to understand what need they are meeting and why they are valuable.
We should also conduct an analysis to understand whether there are differences – or alignments – between cohorts and sub-cohorts.
Even within women’s health there may not be a ‘one size fits all’ solution. Take pregnancy tests, for example.
It can be safely assumed that taking a pregnancy test is an emotive time for most women; the result received, however, can be very polarising dependent on whether the user is actively trying to conceive, or not.
How do we ensure women are supported during this process – before, during and after test taking – when the response to the result can be so different?
The role of design research in shaping a more equitable healthcare future
The data gap in women’s healthcare is real. Not only is our physiology different, but so are our behaviours, attitudes, motivations, and cognition.
Passively relying on existing data or engaging the wrong stakeholders perpetuates the problem and misses opportunities for innovation.
In recent years, the rise of Femtech has opened the possibility to eventually close the data gap with wearable devices and companion apps to address the unmet health needs of women granting passive and active data collection for female-specific conditions (e.g. menopause, fertility, etc.).
But robust processes during product and service design, development, and evaluation remain crucial to ensure women’s distinct requirements are met.
Beyond product development, there is also scope to use design research and, more broadly, Human-Centred Design principles to drive change on a larger scale, influencing education, awareness, and policy.
A focus on organisational ergonomics, for example, applying HFE tools to organisational behaviour, can ensure that women’s needs are considered from the outset.
Crucially, addressing the data gap in women’s healthcare can set the scene to tackle further inequalities across genders, socio-economic groups and cultures.
Only by being aware of data limitations and actively collecting data to counteract them can we ensure we are designing for the right people in the right way and achieve healthcare equity for all.
News
From Hologic to Ark Surgical: Why Joseph LaBruzzo is betting on the future of women’s surgical innovation
After more than two decades leading organisations at some of the world’s most respected medical device companies, including Hologic, SenoRx Breast Care, and BTL Industries, Joseph B. LaBruzzo is embarking on a new chapter as President & CEO of U.S. Operations and Board Member at Ark Surgical.
We sat down with Joseph to discuss what drew him to Ark Surgical, why he believes women’s surgical innovation is entering a transformative era, and what it takes to bring meaningful technologies from concept to standard of care.
You have held leadership positions at some of the biggest names in MedTech. What attracted you to Ark Surgical?
Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to work with organisations that developed technologies capable of changing the standard of care.
What attracted me to Ark Surgical is the opportunity to help address a meaningful unmet need in gynecologic surgery with an innovation that has the potential to improve patient outcomes while preserving the benefits of minimally invasive surgery.
Opportunities like that don’t come along very often.
FemTech World recently highlighted that many women remain unaware of gynecologic cancers and that unexpected diagnoses continue to have a profound impact on patients and families.
How has your own experience shaped the way you think about innovation in women’s health?
Earlier in my career, I witnessed many women receive life-changing cancer diagnoses.
Those experiences stayed with me and reinforced my belief that if there’s an opportunity to reduce risk through better innovation, it’s one worth pursuing.
That’s one of the reasons I was drawn to Ark Surgical.
The vast majority of minimally invasive gynecologic procedures are performed for conditions believed to be benign. Unfortunately, in rare cases, pathology later reveals an unexpected malignancy.
LapBox was designed with a proprietary dual-wall tissue containment system to help facilitate contained specimen retrieval and minimise the risk of tissue spillage during laparoscopic procedures.
I believe innovations like this can help surgeons manage the unexpected while preserving the many benefits of minimally invasive surgery for women.
Women’s health has gained significant momentum in recent years, yet surgical innovation often receives less attention than diagnostics or therapeutics. Why do you think that is?
Women’s health has historically been underfunded and underserved across many areas of medicine, and surgery is no exception.
While we’ve seen tremendous advances in diagnostics and pharmaceuticals, there are still important opportunities to improve the surgical experience for both physicians and patients.
Innovation that enhances safety, efficiency, and outcomes has the potential to make a lasting impact.
What excites you most about LapBox?
LapBox addresses a very real challenge that gynecologic surgeons face during minimally invasive procedures.
It was thoughtfully designed to integrate seamlessly into the surgical workflow while providing an added layer of confidence when tissue retrieval is required.
I believe technologies that solve real clinical challenges in a practical way have the greatest potential to become part of the standard of care.
What do you see as the biggest unmet needs in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery today?
The future of surgery isn’t simply about making procedures less invasive. It’s about making them smarter and safer.
Surgeons need technologies that integrate seamlessly into their workflow while helping them navigate increasingly complex clinical situations.
Every advancement that helps reduce risk while preserving the benefits of minimally invasive surgery has the potential to improve outcomes for both physicians and patients.
That’s where I believe the greatest opportunities for innovation exist.
As you take on this new role, what are your priorities over the next 12 months?
Our focus over the next 12 months is to build a strong foundation for growth. That means expanding physician partnerships, driving early clinical adoption, growing our team, and ensuring that more surgeons have access to technologies like LapBox.
At the same time, we’re focused on building strategic relationships with investors, healthcare systems, and industry partners that support our long-term vision.
What advice would you give entrepreneurs building the next generation of women’s health companies?
Start with a real clinical problem and never lose sight of the patient.
Great technology alone isn’t enough. You also need strong clinical evidence, physician advocates, and a clear market strategy. The companies that succeed are the ones that bring all of those pieces together while remaining focused on improving patient care.
About Joseph B. LaBruzzo
As President & CEO of U.S. Operations and Board Member, Joseph LaBruzzo is leading Ark Surgical’s U.S. growth strategy, physician partnerships, strategic investment initiatives, and organisational expansion, supporting the company’s mission to advance safer minimally invasive gynecologic surgery through innovative technologies.
Cancer cells may hijack a fertility protein to repair damaged DNA and survive chemotherapy, research suggests.
The findings could point to a way of making existing cancer treatments more effective.
SYCP1 is a protein normally involved in producing sperm and eggs.
Researchers at the University of Liverpool found that the protein, previously thought to work only in reproduction, can be reactivated in cancer cells, where it helps tumours survive and grow.
SYCP1 usually helps chromosomes pair during meiosis, the form of cell division that produces reproductive cells.
In cancer cells, however, the protein appears to take on another role. It enters the nucleus, the cell’s control centre, binds directly to DNA and regulates genes involved in cell division and DNA repair.
DNA repair is how cells fix damage to their genetic code. In cancer, this process can help tumour cells survive treatment.
The researchers found that removing SYCP1 made cancer cells much more sensitive to chemotherapy drugs that damage DNA.
The findings suggest cancers may use SYCP1 to repair damage caused by treatment and continue growing.
Dr Urszula McClurg, lecturer in biochemistry, cell and systems biology at the University of Liverpool, said: “Our findings show that cancer cells can hijack proteins that normally exist only in reproductive tissues and give them completely new jobs.
“Understanding these unexpected functions opens up exciting opportunities to develop new treatments that make existing cancer therapies more effective.”
The work challenges the long-held belief that proteins active only in fertility have no biological relevance outside the reproductive system.
Researchers say these specialised proteins could provide new treatment targets across many types of cancer.
The study also offers a new view of how cancers evolve by repurposing developmental and reproductive processes.
The findings highlight SYCP1 as a candidate for future precision cancer therapies, which are treatments based on the specific biology of a patient’s cancer.
Women’s health has become one of the most searched and shared topics online, from cycle syncing and cortisol management to menopause hacks, supplements, hormone testing and clinician-creator content.
That surge in attention, sometimes dubbed “healthmaxxing,” is changing how women find, evaluate and act on health information, and it is starting to reshape the relationship between patients, clinicians and the companies building products for this market.
For providers, the shift means patients are arriving better informed but also more exposed to unverified claims, putting pressure on clinicians to engage with online narratives rather than dismiss them.
For femtech and pharma companies, it opens a route to reach and educate consumers at scale, but also raises the stakes on credibility: products and messaging that ride the trend without clinical grounding risk eroding the trust the industry has spent years building.
Investors are watching the same dynamic from a different angle.
Attention-driven demand can be a signal of where the next wave of femtech growth will come from, but distinguishing genuine clinical need from viral momentum is increasingly part of due diligence.
The net effect is a widening gap between companies that treat cultural attention as a distribution channel for credible, evidence-based care, and those that risk being swept up in trends with little clinical substance behind them.
How that gap plays out will shape patient trust, clinical relationships and commercial opportunity across the women’s health industry for years to come.
These themes will be explored in more depth in an upcoming webinar, “Women’s Healthmaxxing: The Opportunity & Risks of Cultural Attention for the Women’s Health Industry,” hosted by the Women’s Health Innovation Summit (WHIS), featuring Ellen Wilcox (Listen Ventures), Jessica Bell van der Wal (Frame Fertility), Dr. Tosin Sotubo-Ajayi (NHS, BBC and more) and Nora Lansen (Elektra Health).
Register free for the webinar on 23 July 2026 at https://events.virtualpro.com/womens-health-series-webinar-july-2026/registration
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