The IWK Foundation and Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation join forces to
bring women’s health experiences to light.
Saint John, N.B. — [September 17, 2026] — New Brunswick women are sounding the alarm on their health, with nearly one in four saying they are in crisis and many reporting challenges that affect their daily lives, their ability to work and their access to timely care.
Those findings are detailed in a New Brunswick version of the IWK Foundation’s 2025 report, The Voice of Maritime Women: The Unspoken Burden of Women’s Health, the largest-ever open survey focused on women’s health in Canada, which heard from more than 27,000 women across New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
The New Brunswick report, The Voice of New Brunswick Women: The Unspoken Burden of Women’s Health, is based on responses from more than 6,500 New Brunswick women.
“Meaningful change in women’s health will take all of us: women, health-care professionals, researchers, employers, community organizations, governments, donors and others,” says Jennifer Gillivan, IWK Foundation President & CEO. “The IWK will be a champion for that work. We will keep women’s health visible, help bring people together and, most importantly, make sure women’s voices remain at the centre of what comes next.”
Shannon Hunter, President & CEO of the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation, believes the findings represent an important opportunity to make women’s health a greater priority in New Brunswick. The Foundation is championing the findings and will work with the IWK Foundation and other partners to help turn the voices of New Brunswick women into action.
“Women have told us what they need, and now we have an opportunity to act,” says Hunter. “As a Foundation leader, I have seen the power of philanthropy to accelerate health-care priorities, from advancing new models of care to investing in emerging technologies and innovation that improve outcomes for patients. Women’s health should be no different. These findings give us an opportunity to listen, collaborate and invest in solutions that can meaningfully improve the health and lives of women in New Brunswick. “The report captures the full scope of women’s health journeys, extending beyond accessing care.
“What women have given us is much more than data. They have given us an extraordinary window into their lives,” said Gillivan. “They’ve told us about their health, but they’ve also told us about work, family, caregiving, relationships and what it takes to keep going when their own health needs attention. We need to listen to the whole story.”
The health experiences of New Brunswick women are not dissimilar to those across the Maritimes, but some challenges were more pronounced: NB women reported somewhat poorer health; their perceptions of health care support is more negative; they have greater difficulty accessing primary care; and there is a stronger demand for practical information and alternative supports.
Key findings include:
44 per cent of New Brunswick women said their health affects their daily life versus 41 per cent elsewhere in the Maritimes.
44 per cent said a doctor had put them off work, compared with 41 per cent.
32 per cent said they needed but could not access a family doctor, compared with 26 per cent.
23 per cent described themselves as being in crisis in their personal health journey, compared with 21 per cent.
19 per cent rated their health as poor or fair, compared with 15 per cent.
The findings also revealed New Brunswick women are more likely to turn to alternative care options.
47 per cent reported using Maple, compared with 25 per cent elsewhere in the region.
32 per cent used community or mobile clinics, compared with 28 per cent.
Top issues women in New Brunswick want prioritized:
1. Menopause (48%) and Hormone Health (46%) including Perimenopause (39%)
2. Mental Health including stress (49%), anxiety (46%), and depression (45%)
3. Obesity/Weight Management (45%)
4. Heart disease (32%)
5. Sleep disorders (34%)
6. Cancer (29%)
The IWK Foundation and the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation are committed to ensuring the voices of New Brunswick women help shape what comes next. Together, they will work to keep women’s health visible, build partnerships and explore opportunities to advance solutions that respond to the priorities women have identified.
The Voice of New Brunswick Women: The Unspoken Burden of Women’s Health is available at Survey Summaries.
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MEDIA CONTACT
Nicole Slysz
IWK Foundation
nicole.slysz@iwkfoundation.org
(902) 220-6748