Investment theme: Improving health and well-being
Purpose:
To pay for the provision of four educational workshops on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, for ethnic minority women.
Year of grant: 16/3/2024
FR Number: FR-0076505
Amount awarded: £3596
Location: Edinburgh
Full description
Our project seeks to improve the health and wellbeing of females from ethnic minority communities residing in Falkirk, Stirling, Inverness and Aberdeen through the delivery of educational workshops promoting awareness of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).
The Scottish Government recognises the higher prevalence of PCOS among Ethnic Minority (EM) communities and the work that has been carried out to date by PCOS Relief in raising awareness of the condition (https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/votes-and-motions/S6M-10203).
Females diagnosed with PCOS struggle with depression thus affecting their mental health (https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/womens-health/girls-and-young-women-puberty-to-around-25/periods-and-menstrual-health/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pcos). Group activities, allowing participants to come together and share their experiences of PCOS in a safe and welcoming environment will reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation.
This grant will, if successful, contribute towards the salaries of two staff members that will assist with delivering 4 PCOS awareness workshops in Falkirk, Stirling, Inverness and Aberdeen over a period of 6 months.
The workshops will also raise awareness of the challenges faced by EM women affected by PCOS, including the long term health conditions that can result such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pcos/) both of which are mostly common within EM communities (https://www.diabetes.org.uk/preventing-type-2-diabetes/diabetes-ethnicity) and (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-report-of-the-commission-on-race-and-ethnic-disparities-supporting-research/ethnic-disparities-in-the-major-causes-of-mortality-and-their-risk-factors-by-dr-raghib-ali-et-al).