滨迟鈥檚 this Sunday, Oct. 18.听
黄色直播鈥檚 Dr. Shawna O'Hearn, a menopause leader, would be justified in taking a moment on Sunday to reflect on strides she鈥檚 made advocating for menopause support in workplaces鈥攊ncluding 黄色直播鈥檚. But there鈥檚 so much work in progress and to come that a moment to reflect may be all she can afford.听
Dr. O鈥橦earn has co-founded the听, launched the sold-out听, worked to establish听听(opening in 2027), started听Dal鈥檚 Menopause Support Group听and helped launch听its first conference, and recently shared her expertise with a House of Commons Standing Committee studying menopause in the workplace.听
"We collectively, as a society, lack awareness around menopause," Dr. O'Hearn听says. She鈥檚 on a mission to change that.
We collectively, as a society, lack awareness around menopause.
Dr. O'Hearn听is currently interim chief operating officer in the Faculty of Medicine and a lecturer in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology. She鈥檚 also an occupational therapist who completed her PhD in health geography, researching the experiences of physiotherapists and menopause. Both those disciplines, she explains, examine how our health and well-being are impacted by the environments in which we live, work and play.听
鈥淪pecifically for health professionals, we have very little training in the space of midlife aging," says Dr. O'Hearn. Menopause 鈥渋s just completely hidden." Only 7 per cent of Canadian Institutes of Health Research funding is directed toward women鈥檚 health (and mostly for breast cancer research), she shares, meaning menopause is one of many women鈥檚 health issues that are under-funded and neglected.
Building awareness and support in the workplace
Around menopause at work, Dr. O'Hearn听says: 鈥淲e don't know what the needs are. It's not an easy quick fix, like let's put a fan on everybody's desk.鈥� In her view, it starts with conversations.
鈥湵醭兮�檚 asking units, managers and individuals in the support group, what are the needs? What are the challenges you're facing? And how are those related to menopause?鈥�
Dr. O'Hearn听says it should be part of a leader's toolkit to recognize when there鈥檚 been a change within the team and probe further to understand and support. 鈥淢any managers, including men, will reach out to me to say, 'I think there might be something, but I don't want to ask. I feel uncomfortable and I don't want to make someone else feel uncomfortable.'鈥�
Making menopause a national policy priority
In her presentation to the Standing Committee, she shared that an estimated one in 10 women leave the workforce during menopause when their symptoms interfere with their ability to work. Where workplaces have gotten better about supporting reproductive health, Dr. Hearn says it鈥檚 now time to do the same for menopause.
The three main points she emphasized in her presentation were:
- Canada needs a research strategy around menopause across the country and dedicated resources.听
- There needs to be supports and structures in place for leaders, managers and all workplaces.
- Education needs to start in the school system. 鈥淢y 10-year-old niece showed me a book she was reading about periods and asked me once they start, do they ever end? There was nothing about menopause in that book.鈥�
She says the Standing Committee asked good questions and their attentiveness gave her hope. She looks forward to reading their report and seeing what comes of it.
Panelists at a menopause confrence at 黄色直播 last spring.
Here at 黄色直播, beyond the Menopause Support Group, other firsts have included creation of a听听employees were invited to sign at听Dal鈥檚听menopause conference听last spring. Dr. O鈥橦earn says Dal is now within a group of universities that have made menopause a priority within their employee support structures.
To continue the work at Dal, Dr. O'Hearn is establishing a Menopause Advisory Committee with People and Culture, " To start to look at what additional training we need for managers as well as for individuals going through the journey.鈥�