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Irish Examiner
15 hours ago
- Health
- Irish Examiner
'It still is a barrier': Almost 40% of women feel 'lonely and isolated'
Nearly two in five women feel 'lonely and isolated' and only 8% think it is easy to access mental health services, an Irish Examiner Ipsos B+A survey has found. These barriers remain despite almost half the women surveyed saying it is easier to talk about mental health challenges today than in the past. Some 1,078 women were surveyed across Ireland. Women were asked to say how true this is for them: 'I often feel lonely or isolated nowadays'. Some 12% said they strongly agree with this, 27% said they somewhat agree while 18% said they strongly disagreed. Almost two in every five women have visited a healthcare professional about mental health in recent years. A larger number however - 60% - said they have not seen anyone for mental health supports in recent years. Some issues stood out as pushing women to need help including fertility struggles and experiencing a miscarriage as well as perimenopause and to a lesser extent menopause. However, among women who sought help, 30% said access to a professional was either poor or very poor in their experience. Only 13% said this was very good and 27% said this was good. Crisis café Reacting to some of these findings, operations manager with the Solas Café in Cork, Breda Richardson, suggested childcare could be a barrier. This HSE-funded café offers out-of-hours mental health support for men and women. 'We're creating an out-of-hours crisis café for people experiencing mental health difficulties,' she said. 'We're open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, it's a pilot scheme. People can make an appointment for up to 1.5 hours between 6pm and 10.30pm. 'Even with that (flexibility), it still is a barrier for women because a lot of women are on their own and they do have children. And we can't have children come to the café, there still is that barrier there,' she said. 'We have raised that, but it is difficult for people.' Among those who use the café, they see 'people are isolated, people have social anxiety'. Carers, including people caring for elderly relatives or people whose spouse is unwell whether physically or mentally, often attend. They provide 'a listening ear', she said, and can also direct people with more severe illnesses to specialist help. Similar cafes will open in Limerick and Waterford, she added. The survey was carried out by Ipsos B+A for Feelgood, with a nationally representative sample of 1,078 women aged over 16.
Irish Examiner
15 hours ago
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Cost a significant barrier to fertility treatment despite State-funded scheme, survey finds
One in three women does not feel well-informed about fertility treatment options in Ireland, despite a publicly-funded scheme running for almost two years. Just 10% said they feel they know a lot about the options, an Irish Examiner / Ipsos B+A national opinion poll has found. Despite improvements in care options here, some 29% agreed the options still seem better abroad than in Ireland. Cost remains a significant barrier, with only 9% of women saying they agree or somewhat agree fertility treatments are reasonably priced here. The survey of 1,000 women found: One in five women experiences fertility difficulties; Of those who experienced difficulties, 80% sought medical advice; 30% of those with fertility problems go on to have treatment; Women from more affluent backgrounds are more likely to have treatment. Just over one-third of the women said they would consider egg freezing. However, one-fifth did not like this approach, the survey found. This comes against a backdrop of the State's relatively new funding programme, which is only open to heterosexual couples for now. They can be referred to one of six regional fertility hubs, including in Nenagh. On average, 450 couples are now being referred each month across the six hubs, with most referred by GPs, the HSE said this week. The hubs offer a range of fertility care including assessment, medical, or surgical treatments. Ovulation induction — using fertility drugs to induce ovulation in women — is one example of what is available. 'During the course of 2024, approximately 1,000 couples underwent ovulation induction under the care of the six regional fertility hubs,' a HSE spokesman said. Couples can also be referred to private fertility clinics for funded treatment. There are 10 approved providers, including Sims IVF in Cork, Waterstones Cork, and Therapie Fertility in Limerick. Between September 2023 and June 6 this year, some 2,395 couples were referred to HSE-approved providers. However, the National Infertility Support and Information Group recently raised concerns about the pace of promised expansions. Chairperson Caitríona Fitzpatrick said: 'There was a number of commitments made in the budget last year around the expansion of the publicly-funded IVF scheme and they have not taken place yet.' Donor conception which would benefit same-sex couples and single people is still not included. She welcomed progress on setting up a new assisted human reproduction regulatory authority but expressed frustration at how little information was being shared on timelines and future plans. Fianna Fáil TD Sean McGrath raised these delays with health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill in the Dáil earlier this month. The survey was carried out by Ipsos B+A for Feelgood, with a nationally representative sample of 1,078 women aged over 16. Read More Breaking the cycle: Eight fertility myths debunked
