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Marketing empowerment: how corporations co-opt feminist narratives to promote non-evidence based health interventions

Promotion of non-evidence based tests and treatments using empowerment messages risks women being overdiagnosed and overtreated, argue Tessa Copp and colleagues Commercial organisations have an extraordinary influence on population health through how they engage with and shape social movements to market their products.1 Corporations have historically exploited health agendas by prioritising messaging about female autonomy to encourage women’s consumption of unhealthy commodities, such as tobacco and alcohol.2 This phenomenon has now expanded across women’s health. Feminist narratives of increasing women’s autonomy and empowerment regarding their healthcare, which first arose through early women’s health movements,34 are now increasingly adopted by commercial entities to market new interventions (technologies, tests, treatments) that lack robust evidence or ignore the evidence that is available. Increased awareness and advocacy in women’s health are vital to overcome sex inequalities in healthcare, including the need for improved resources for under-researched conditions and to reverse historical biases that prevent optimal treatments for women. However, promoting healthcare interventions that are not supported by evidence, or while concealing or downplaying evidence, increases the risk of harm to women through inappropriate medicalisation, overdiagnosis, and overtreatment. Importantly, the problem is not with the use of health technologies, tests, and treatments per se, as many women benefit greatly and gain improved quality of life from them. The problem lies in the way commercial marketing and advocacy efforts push such interventions to a much larger group of women than is likely to benefit without being explicit about their limitations (box 1). In addition, commercial use of feminist narratives to promote interventions gives the impression health and sex equality are commodities that can be bought (by those who can afford it), without acknowledging the social structures and other intersecting causes of disadvantage. We discuss two current examples, the anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) test …

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children: more focus on care and support, less on diagnosis

ADHD diagnoses continue to increase, but Luise Kazda and colleagues argue that the push for diagnosis could be hampering access to care and support for children ### Key messages The prevalence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children has been rising for several decades,1234 including in countries with previously low rates.5 In Germany, for example, the prevalence of ADHD in children rose by 77% over 10 years, from 2.2% in 2004 to 3.8% in 2013.6 Enhanced awareness of mental wellbeing and neurodiversity during the covid-19 pandemic has led to a change in public discourse around ADHD.78 Highly viewed videos on social media describe a variety of ADHD symptoms and encourage viewers to seek diagnostic evaluation.8910 Many of the most highly viewed TikTok videos (the #adhd hashtag stands at over 30 billion views) are easy to understand and relatable, but most provide content created by non-healthcare professionals that is often misleading or wrong,10 which can lead to “unrealistic expectations.”8 Diagnosis of ADHD, however, depends on an assessment of the frequency and severity of hyperactive and inattentive behaviours that exist on a …

Debate about treatment for gestational diabetes

At about 24 weeks, Sarah Tansky, like all pregnant women in Australia, was tested for gestational diabetes using a one-step test. The results shattered her.

$16m investment to boost maternity services

Gestational Diabetes Diagnosis May Not Benefit Women, Babies