The power in coming together to discuss women’s health
- Written by: Kirsteen Campbell —
- Published: 13th January 2026
The ALLIANCE’s Women’s Health Lived Experience Group reflect on their input to Phase 2 of the Scottish Government’s Women’s Health Plan.
I’m Kirsteen Campbell, I am 45 years old and have battled with endometriosis for the past 30 years, including having a number of difficult surgeries. I am particularly passionate about rural healthcare and that reproductive services should be accessible to all, including those essential for endometriosis care.
I have loved being part of the lived experience group. I have sat on this group for a long time now. It is nice to engage with others with similar passions and it’s an important way to stamp out stigmas and taboos that still face many areas of women’s health. There is always a good variety of webinars and important discussions which it is great to be a part of. It is also good to have the regular updates from the Scottish Government’s Women’s Health Plan team and Professor Anna Glasier, the Women’s Health Champion.
It was brilliant to have the opportunity to come down to Glasgow this year to be part of the discussions about Phase 2 of the Scottish Government’s Women’s Health Plan and meet incredible women who I have enjoyed working with online, as well as members of the Women’s Health Plan policy team. There is something very powerful about being in a room together.
Lived experience counts so much, so it was so good to see the vast representation in the room covering many different areas around women’s health.
During the discussions at sessions in March and August 2025, I felt it was particularly important that when we were talking about women’s health we were also focusing on girls. Education featured heavily in all the topics we discussed. In my opinion we need to see education on women’s health improve in our schools, so girls and young women are well informed, but also for our medical professionals.
Women deserve to be heard and seen in healthcare more than they have in the past. It is important now that the points we focused on come into practice.
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