400 healthcare practitioners attend 1st All-Women Healthcare Symposium

JOHOR BARU: Some 400 healthcare personnel, comprising gynaecologists, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and  medical students, as well as non-profit organisation (NGO) representatives, attended the one-day All-Women Healthcare Symposium (1st Edition) at Renaissance Hotel here recently.

Themed "Meeting Women's Healthcare Needs for a Better Tomorrow", the symposium was organised by Gleneagles Hospital Medini Johor in collaboration with the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) Johor Branch and Monash University.

It comprised keynote lectures, talks, demonstration and hands-on training. 

The event gave participants updates on women's healthcare.

Symposium director Dr Sharifah Halimah Jaafar said the forum addressed woman's healthcare needs holistically by engaging with primary healthcare providers across southern Malaysia.

She said the event's aim was to bring a greater understanding of the wider aspects of care, sharing new updates and current evidence in the management of women's health.

She added that there was a need to increase their participation and partnership in managing various aspects of women's healthcare at primary healthcare level, from adolescent health, reproductive health and mental health to gynae-oncology, aesthetic and skin health.

"It is my hope to create a forum to explore different virtues and advancing favourable outcomes in all aspects of women's healthcare needs from adolescent to postmenopausal," said Dr Sharifah. 

Gleneagles Hospital Medini Johor (GHMJ)  Dr Kamal Amzan  chief executive officer said it was a privilege to work hand-in-hand with the various industries, including the academia and NGOs in organising this symposium.

"As a hospital, we are cognisant of our role to empower women in understanding their healthcare needs and make healthcare more accessible in the country," he said.

He said GHMJ was among the very few hospitals nationwide to employ the Da Vinci Xi robotic system by Device Technologies Inc, allowing doctors to carry out a wide range of robotic surgeries, including gynaecological ones, with high precision, which translates into better recovery time, as well as safer and better outcomes for patients.

Meanwhile, MMA Johor Branch chairman  Datuk Dr Mohan Kandasamy said women's health was an important area among medical practitioners as women had a unique set of health care challenges and were at higher risk of certain diseases compared with men.

He said the MMA was delighted to collaborate with GHMJ and Monash University in organising the symposium as it created a platform for smart partnership to bring a better tomorrow for women and family healthcare.

In his keynote lecture 1, themed "Maternal Mortality: Lesson Learnt", Dr J. Ravichandran said the number of live births in Malaysia logged the highest decrease in a decade with 439,744 births recorded in 2021 compared with 471,504 births in 2020.

The former national head and senior consultant of obstetrics said the Crude Birth Rate (CBR) has declined from 14.5 births per thousand population in 2020 compared with 13.5 births per thousand population 2021.

He added that the Total Fertility Rate showed a declining trend with 1.7 babies per woman of childbearing age, which ranges between 15 and 49 years, in 2021 compared with 1.8 babies in 2020.

In her keynote lecture 2, themed "Violence Against Women is a Public Issue," Ivy Josiah called on all to play a role in eliminating violence against women (VAW).

The Women's Aid Organisation (WAO)  executive director said there needed to be a understanding that VAW is a chosen action against the fairer sex simply because of the victim's gender.

She said health providers were part of the solution and could play a crucial role in addressing it, such as identifying and providing the right support for victims of such violence.