“This movement may be pushing the envelope, but it follows the trend we’re seeing, where people want more information and more participation in their health,” Dr. Sullivan said.
This is a natural evolution, he said, as patients read articles, do their own research, and talk to each other. In part, this also represents a generational phenomenon, where younger people have a willingness to learn from each other and from online resources, and can figure out how to do things for themselves.
But most importantly, he said, “people need to feel welcome. This is telling us something.”
Dr. Scott A. Sullivan
Dr. Sullivan sees many rural patients who face challenges just getting to the clinic or hospital. And in general he is seeing a trend toward more home care in obstetrics and gynecology – home ovulation tests, home HIV testing, home genetic tests. Especially for underserved rural populations, more patient self-help – with appropriate communication and monitoring – may mean that safe, effective care can be delivered to more women, he said.
“Of course, there are some things that only we should be doing – some procedures and surgery – but this is a wake-up call to our profession,” Dr. Sullivan said.
A historical context
Some of this may seem like old news to those who remember the women’s movement of the 1960s and 1970s, whose leaders promoted female self-awareness and empowerment in health. So how do the GynePunks and their new tools fit in historically?
“This emphasis on women as the agents of their own health is in many ways an extension of the feminist efforts in the 1970s to reclaim women’s bodies and question the authority of experts,” said Terra Ziporyn, Ph.D., a science historian and coauthor of “The New Harvard Guide to Women’s Health.”
Referring to the seminal work produced by the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, Dr. Ziporyn said, “it’s like an ‘Our Bodies, Ourselves’ updated for a digitalized and globalized world.”
The women’s movement of 40 years ago promoted female self-awareness and empowerment, encouraging women to acquire at least a mirror, and perhaps a speculum, to get comfortable with their own anatomy. Today, a 10-pack of plastic specula can be delivered to your front door – for under $10.
Whether the GynePunks have come full circle to the old ways of self-care, or whether they are creating a new fusion of feminism and technology, the movement has the potential to shake up traditional women’s health. For Dr. Sullivan, that’s not a bad thing. “If women don’t feel welcome in our offices, we need to do something about it,” he said.
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