Women hugging facing away from camera

Health and economic impacts of non-communicable diseases on women in Mexico to be explored through new collaboration

The George Institute for Global Health and the Mexican National Institute of Public Health (INSP) announced this week that they are collaborating on a research project exploring the health and economic impacts of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) on women in Mexico.

The announcement was made during the Mexican Association of Pharmaceutical Research’s (AMIIF) annual Innovation Week. The project, which is funded by AMIIF, will be conducted over a 20-month period from 2021-23.

Professor Robyn Norton, Co-Founder and Principal Director of The George Institute for Global Health, said:

“Non-communicable diseases and injuries are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality for women in almost every country. In this context, our research to understand the health and economic burden of NCDs on women in Mexico is urgently needed.

“I am delighted that The George Institute for Global Health is collaborating with INSP; a partnership enriched by international expertise in health equity and systems research, and meaningful involvement of research participants. Together, we can develop the evidence to support gender-transformative policies and programs to improve the prevention and management of NCDs for Mexican women.”

The research team will adopt a mixed-methods approach to explore how the economic and health burdens associated with NCDs differ between women and men in Mexico. The aim is that research insights will be used to enhance system-wide efforts to improve the prevention, management, and treatment of NCDs for women in Mexico, resulting in improved health outcomes and significant savings at the individual and health-system levels.

Dr Edson Serván-Mori, Research Professor at INSP and project lead, said:

“This project, with its broad focus on health and economic impacts, responds to the mission and vision of INSP to contribute to reductions in social inequity. This research will allow us to better understand the drivers and characteristics of health inequities, particularly with relation to gender, beyond the biological and binary definition of sex, and inform ongoing work around the intersectionality of social inequity more broadly.”

In the context of persistent and widening social inequities, this project represents a valuable opportunity to consider the impacts of NCDs in Mexico, as well as generating evidence of relevance to similar countries and contexts and highlighting key themes for ongoing research.

Cristóbal Thompson, Executive Director of AMIIF, said:

“Women are affected by NCDs in different ways to men. Women also have different levels of exposure and vulnerability to NCD risk factors. These disadvantages reflect broader social vulnerabilities.

“Research is crucial to generate evidence on the broad impacts of NCDs, including in relation to care access, costs, and timeliness. The aim of AMIIF is to define innovative solutions for improved health through partnerships, which must be built on an understanding of the overall picture, of the kind that this research will provide.”

Project updates will be published on The George Institute and INSP’s websites, as well as on Twitter @georgeinstitute.