“She hadn't told anyone as she was so embarrassed”: Embarrassment as a barrier to accessing women’s health care

Phillips, Ellie and Hanson, Sarah (2025) “She hadn't told anyone as she was so embarrassed”: Embarrassment as a barrier to accessing women’s health care. Open Science Framework (OSF).

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Abstract

Aims: Many people leave a medical consultation with unvoiced concerns due to embarrassment, yet there is some evidence that patients welcome being asked, even about intimate issues, if this is done appropriately. Method: This listening exercise involved women aged 40-60 years from under-served communities sharing their experiences and views in informal ‘conversations’ with trained community-based researchers recruited through Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations. These ‘trusted communicators’ were uniquely placed as they were already embedded in their communities. Written summaries of conversations, with no personal identifying information, were submitted to the research team for analysis. Participants were asked if they would like to give their views in a spontaneous way and as this was a public engagement exercise, with no personal identifying information recorded, institutional ethical processes were not sought. Results: Nine VCSE organisations engaged 766 women in 361 conversations (292 individual and 69 in groups) in face-to-face conversations in community settings between January and May 2025. Three key themes were identified around embarrassment: seeking healthcare services, using healthcare services and the impact of embarrassment. Conclusions: Embarrassment was a recurring theme and prevented some women accessing support and services. Without the ability to have open conversations with medical practitioners about health issues, women risk ‘losing their voice’ and becoming less involved in their healthcare.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Data available on reasonable request.
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Nutrition and Preventive Medicine Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Norwich Institute for Healthy Aging Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Promotion Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Public Health
Related URLs:	https://osf.io/d867c/overview?view_only=...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	06 Jan 2026 15:30
Last Modified:	06 Jan 2026 15:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/101535
DOI:

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