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Why AI in women’s health needs to start with curiosity

By Morgan Rose, Chief Science Officer, Ema

Published

2 years ago

on

Women’s pain is complex, often overlapping between physical, emotional, and social dimensions.

Chronic pain affects 70 per cent of female sufferers yet is frequently misdiagnosed or dismissed as psychological (Oh, n.d.; UCL, 2021).

Curiosity is the key to addressing this gap.

By asking thoughtful questions and uncovering connections, AI can move beyond surface symptoms to build trust, foster understanding, and uncover root causes.

This curiosity-driven approach ensures earlier diagnoses, more effective treatments, and care that truly resonates with women’s unique experiences—bridging the gaps traditional healthcare often leaves behind.

Understanding Pain as More Than Physical

Pain isn’t just physical; it encompasses emotional and social dimensions that significantly impact women’s health.

Physical Pain: Women often experience conditions like fibromyalgia and migraines more frequently than men.

These ailments are painful and challenging to diagnose and treat, leading to prolonged suffering.

Biological and hormonal factors significantly influence these conditions.

For example, fluctuations in estrogen levels have been shown to exacerbate pain sensitivity, highlighting the need for sex-specific approaches to treatment (IASP, n.d.; PMC, n.d.).

Research Insight: Studies indicate that women’s pain is more likely to be dismissed or misdiagnosed due to gender biases in healthcare (UCL, 2021).

A curious approach can counteract these biases by delving into specific triggers and experiences.

Asking targeted, open-ended questions can help identify patterns that might be overlooked.

Example Question: “You mentioned frequent migraines—have you noticed if they occur more during certain phases of your menstrual cycle or after stressful events?”

Emotional Pain: Chronic pain often coexists with emotional distress, including depression and anxiety.

Women are twice as likely as men to experience these conditions, which can exacerbate their physical symptoms and create a cycle of suffering (Mayo Clinic, n.d.; Kushner, 2024).

The emotional distress associated with chronic pain often exacerbates the perception of pain, creating a cycle that’s hard to break (Dovepress, 2024).

Research Insight: Emotional pain is frequently underdiagnosed or mischaracterised in women, often overshadowing underlying physical conditions (Mayo Clinic, n.d.; Kushner, 2024).

Addressing both dimensions through curiosity fosters holistic care.

Exploring the emotional context of pain through thoughtful questions can uncover hidden contributors to distress.

Social Pain: Social rejection, isolation, and stigma are significant contributors to women’s pain experiences.

For instance, caregiving responsibilities and societal pressures disproportionately affect women, amplifying their vulnerability to social pain (IASP, n.d.; PMC, 2024).

Societal factors, including gender biases, can lead to women’s pain being dismissed or underestimated by healthcare providers.

This dismissal delays appropriate treatment and contributes to feelings of isolation and helplessness (Psychology Today, 2024).

Research Insight: Social determinants, such as poverty and neighborhood conditions, significantly influence pain intensity, particularly in conditions like breast cancer (PMC, 2024).

Curiosity-driven care can help identify and address these factors. Addressing social pain requires understanding the broader context of a woman’s life.

Curiosity in Practice: Improving Diagnosis and Care

Delayed Diagnosis

Women often face significant delays in receiving diagnoses for chronic pain conditions like endometriosis and pelvic pain (Independent, 2024).

These delays are attributed to biases, normalization of symptoms, and limited access to care (MDU, 2024).

How Curiosity Changes the Game

Curiosity goes beyond simply asking questions—it’s about exploring someone’s unique challenges and identifying connections they might not see themselves.

Research shows that curiosity-driven approaches foster trust, enhance engagement, and lead to more accurate diagnoses in healthcare​.

They are designed with curiosity at its core, can uncover root causes, and provide meaningful support in women’s health. Here’s how:

1. Asking the Right Questions to Build Trust

A curious approach encourages open dialogue, helping women feel understood and validated.

Studies reveal that patients who feel heard are more likely to share critical information, leading to better outcomes.

  • “You mentioned fatigue—do you notice it more after specific activities or during certain times of the month?” This shows attentiveness and opens the door to uncovering hormonal or lifestyle connections.

2. Uncovering Overlooked Patterns

Curiosity allows AI to identify connections that might not be immediately obvious, such as how diet, stress, and sleep interact to affect overall health.

Research highlights that women often present with complex, multifaceted symptoms that require nuanced exploration.

  • Example: “Have you noticed whether your skin flare-ups happen during periods of high stress or poor sleep? Let’s explore the potential links.”

3. Encouraging Reflection for Deeper Insights

Curiosity-driven AI doesn’t just provide answers—it helps women reflect on their habits, symptoms, and patterns.

This reflective process empowers patients to take ownership of their health.

  • Example: “What impacts your energy most—your diet, stress, or sleep? Why do you think that is?”

4. Creating Personalised, Actionable Plans

When curiosity informs recommendations, they feel more relevant and actionable. Personalized care has been proven to increase adherence to health advice, improving outcomes.

  • Example: “Would you like to start adjusting your hydration or exploring sleep routines? Let’s choose what feels manageable for you.”

5. Supporting Holistic Health

Women’s health is deeply interconnected. Curiosity allows AI to address not just the physical symptoms but the emotional and social factors as well.

  • Example: “You mentioned stress and skin health—have you noticed any connections between the two? Let’s explore what might be contributing.”

6. Inspiring Confidence and Action

The right questions can help users discover practical, achievable steps. Curiosity creates those “aha” moments that make users feel capable of making meaningful changes.

  • Example: “Have you tried syncing your workouts with your cycle? It could boost your energy and help you feel more in tune with your body. Would you like to explore how to get started?”

7. Keeping the Conversation Going

Curiosity also helps AI maintain long-term engagement because users feel their progress matters. They’re more likely to return and keep exploring solutions.

  • Example: “Let’s check in next week to see how those hydration tips worked for you. What might you notice after trying them for a few days?”

The Bigger Picture

Curiosity isn’t just a nice to have; it’s essential for addressing the complexities of women’s health.

It builds trust, keeps users engaged, and helps uncover connections that lead to meaningful solutions.

By focusing on the person behind the pain—and asking thoughtful, open-ended questions—AI can bridge the gaps that traditional healthcare often leaves behind.

When AI tools like Ema approach women’s health curiously, they move beyond simply tracking symptoms.

They create a space where women feel seen, heard, and empowered to take control of their health—physically, emotionally, and socially.

Why This Matters

Women’s health has long been underserved, with too many tools and platforms treating it as one-dimensional.

By making curiosity the foundation of AI interactions, we can change that.

Curiosity doesn’t just solve problems—it helps women feel connected to their health in a way that’s personal, honest, and empowering.

That’s the kind of change we need.

Morgan Rose is a Certified Nurse Midwife, Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, and International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant with over a decade of experience supporting women’s health. As the Chief Science Officer at Ema, Morgan combines her expertise with her passion for empowering women. She lives with her spunky daughter and their beloved dog in New York City.

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Insight

Women urged to be wary of menopause misinformation on social media

Published

7 days ago

on

August 4, 2026

By

Women are being urged to seek evidence-based advice and avoid menopause misinformation shared on social media.

A seminar co-hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) mainly examined what is known about the cognitive effects of menopause and current research in the field worldwide.

Dr Nicole Jaff, a South African academic and certified menopause practitioner, said research into menopause and its effects was now at a peak.

She said: “There’s a lot of information out there.

“But I would say please look for the evidence-based information, not for the influencers and the misinformation, but those who are giving guidelines, who are giving information.”

Jaff highlighted research into cognitive changes during menopause and how some women experience brain fog, a term for difficulties with memory, concentration and clear thinking.

She said: “I’m very excited about the non-hormonal treatments that are now available, especially for women who could never take hormone therapy because of breast cancers and various cancers, who can now take it.

“I’m extremely excited about people who are standing up for evidence-based medicine, for science, who are actually fighting back against a lot of the social media and influencers who are not giving evidence-based information and making life very difficult for women because they think they should be forever young or buying this or buying that.”

Jaff advised women and healthcare workers to read new guidelines recently issued by the International Menopause Society. They are available free to download from its website.

The seminar also heard from Professor Aimee Spector, professor of clinical psychology of ageing at University College London.

She raised similar concerns about misinformation, particularly claims linking hormone replacement therapy, known as HRT, to dementia. Some claims suggest HRT reduces dementia risk, while others suggest it increases the risk.

Spector said: “I think there’s also lots of misinformation.

“And I think that there’s huge variations in how even professionals and doctors interpret this information.”

She was part of an international research team commissioned by the WHO last year to assess published studies on the issue.

The institutions involved also included the Global Brain Health Institute at Trinity College Dublin.

Spector said: “The first thing to say is that the quality of evidence was very low.

“Nine out of the 10 studies we looked at were observational, which means that you’re observing patterns over time. But you don’t necessarily know whether that’s due to the hormone therapy or not.

“Our overall recommendation was that there’s insufficient evidence for menopause hormone therapy in terms of either increasing or reducing the risk of dementia. In other words, we don’t know either way.”

Spector said women should therefore decide whether to use HRT to treat menopause symptoms rather than based on concerns about dementia.

She said: “It’s recommended for menopause symptoms, but it’s not recommended to reduce dementia. And I think a lot of people are saying that.”

The Menopause on the Brain webinar was part of an ongoing series hosted by the WHO and other global health agencies.

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Insight

Endometriosis musical set for Edinburgh Fringe stage

Published

1 week ago

on

July 31, 2026

By

An endometriosis musical by two US writers will debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August.

“Endometriosis: The Musical” follows Jane, a woman trying to discover why she is living with chronic pain.

Maria Bartholdi and Kristin Stowell first developed the production for the 2022 Minnesota Fringe Festival.

The full show premiered at Theater in the Round in Minneapolis in 2025.

Stowell said the play drew on personal experience, although neither writer realised it at the time.

“So it’s like my goal to let women see themselves in this who are dealing with this and have a question they can bring back to their doctor,” she said.

“Like, could it be endometriosis?”

Bartholdi said she did not realise she might have the condition herself until after the play premiered.

“This show helped diagnose me, which I think is just one of the miraculous things that we hope this the show does for other people as well,” Bartholdi said.

Dr Wendy VanBuren, a radiologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, said she was a fan of the musical and its role in raising awareness of a common but underdiagnosed disease.

“Cells that are similar to but not identical to the cells that comprise the lining of the uterus, the inside of the uterus, are located outside the uterus,” said VanBuren.

“When they’re outside the uterus, there isn’t the right environment to deal with that. So basically, what you get is bleeding, and then you get inflammation.”

Roughly one in seven women live with the disease, and receiving a diagnosis can take nearly a decade.

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Johnson & Johnson offers to pay US$5.5bn to settle talc cancer lawsuits

Published

2 weeks ago

on

July 31, 2026

By

Johnson & Johnson has offered an estimated US$5.5bn settlement covering about 76,000 claims that its talc products caused ovarian cancer.

The proposed agreement could end a contentious legal dispute over the company’s baby powder and other talc-based products that has lasted around a decade.

Johnson & Johnson said the settlement covers claims consolidated in a federal court in New Jersey and related cases in state court.

The claims represent nearly all the remaining talc cases against the US multinational, according to the company.

Johnson & Johnson has previously settled most claims alleging that its talc contained asbestos and caused mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer affecting the lining of organs, most commonly the lungs, and is usually linked to asbestos exposure.

Law firms representing claimants confirmed the proposed deal, describing it as a good resolution after around 10 years of litigation.

The agreement must be accepted by 95 per cent of ovarian cancer claimants in state or federal court before it becomes final.

Erik Haas, vice-president of litigation at Johnson & Johnson, said the claims were “meritless” and that the company was willing to settle to bring the litigation to a close.

“While we are confident the company would have ultimately prevailed with further litigation, as it has in the vast majority of cases tried to date, this resolution allows the company to put this matter behind it and remain focused on its mission to develop medicines and devices that save lives,” Haas said.

The company expects to pay US$3bn in 2027, with further payments due in 2028.

The deal could be worth more, depending on how many people take part in the settlement.

Chris Seeger, a lawyer representing around 2,500 clients with talc claims who helped negotiate the agreement, said Johnson & Johnson could ultimately pay US$7bn or more.

The settlement assigns specific values to qualifying ovarian cancer claims but does not cap the company’s total payout.

“We got a fair settlement, and our clients are going to be happy with it,” Seeger said.

Johnson & Johnson reached the agreement after a series of court victories, including wins in individual trials and successful efforts to disqualify claimants’ lawyers from the litigation.

The company also secured court rulings against experts used by claimants to support their cases.

A federal judge last week questioned whether individual claimants could prove that talc had specifically caused their ovarian cancer.

Johnson & Johnson has consistently denied that its talc products caused cancer, maintaining that the products were safe and did not contain asbestos.

The company stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the US in 2020 and switched to a cornstarch-based product.

Litigation resumed in March 2025 after being paused for more than three years while Johnson & Johnson pursued a bankruptcy strategy known as the “Texas two step”.

The company filed three bankruptcies through a shell-company subsidiary in an attempt to settle the cases. Each bankruptcy was dismissed.

Before the bankruptcy attempts, Johnson & Johnson had a mixed record in talc trials.

These included a multibillion-dollar verdict for 22 women who said baby powder caused their ovarian cancer, alongside trials won by Johnson & Johnson and other verdicts later reduced on appeal.

Unlike the proposed bankruptcy settlements, the latest agreement applies only to existing claims and does not cover future lawsuits.

Seeger said excluding future claims made more money available for current claimants than the bankruptcy proposal and would allow all claims to be paid within 18 months rather than over more than a decade.

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