Women’s Health directly relates to at least half of the world’s population. In the US, however, there have been recent calls to amend disproportionate underfunding into research, treatments and services for women and the health issues they face. 

In recent analysis, CREATION.co has identified over 10,000 online healthcare professionals (eHCPs) who use their platforms to discuss the topic of women’s health. Over the last 12 months this has materialised in more than 50,000 social media posts on X (formerly Twitter). These eHCPs shared their own experiences, called for more research and funding, and petitioned governments and other policy makers to prioritize improving care and services for women.

From the HCP online women’s health conversation in the US (gynecology and obstetrics, reproductive health, fertility and contraceptives), CREATION.co employed its CREATION Pinpoint technology as a means by which to identify the healthcare professionals that were leading conversation and influencing their peers in the field most effectively. These are known as Digital Opinion Leaders (DOLs), the top five of whom all happen to be women. A number of metrics were used to evaluate DOL status, including volume of relevant conversation, reach and engagement of content, strength of their peer network, level of trust, and two-way communication. Ranging from just under 2,000 to over 300,000 followers, each identified HCP holds a strong level of expertise and leadership in the area of women’s health with their passion for the topic reflected in their online conversation.

Top DOLs in Women’s Health

Jocelyn J. Fitzgerald 

Jocelyn J. Fitzgerald is a double board certified Urogynecologist and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgeon at Magee-Womens Hospital and other clinics under the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Her educational background and clinical practice is centered on women’s healthcare. She is a prominent advocate for both improved women’s health care and increased respect for gynecology surgeons. In one of her most impactful posts about women’s health, she said the majority of her gynecology surgery peers have stories about being told they’re “wasting their talent”. In another she shared her dismay that gynecology surgeries supposedly “don’t count”. Of her online posts on Women’s Health, 35% discussed endometriosis, for which she called for greater research and funding for better treatments.

CREATION.co classifies Jocelyn J. Fitzgerald as a Women’s Health Campaigner: She utilises her platform of over 35,000 followers to champion improved care for women.

Martha Gulati

Martha Gulati is a cardiologist who is an expert in Women’s Health and Heart Disease, passionate about saving women’s hearts and empowering women to understand risks. As well as a practising cardiologist, she is Editor-in-Chief of CardioSmart for the American College of Cardiology, author of the Best Seller “Saving Women’s Hearts”, and co-Author of National Guidelines for Heart Disease Prevention in Women, Stress Testing in Women, and the Role of Exercise Stress Testing.

With her niche of women’s heart health, her online conversation brings the topic of women’s health to the narrative of other cardiologists, expanding the focus from only OB/GYNs, midwives and other typical roles. She advertises training for cardiologists and internists in programs specifically on women’s heart health and celebrates positive outcomes for women such as the FDA approval of over the counter birth control.

CREATION.co classifies Martha Gulati as a Heart Health Expert due to her using her vast experience and training to educate both her medical peers and the public on women’s health as it relates to the heart.

Amanda P. Williams

Amanda P. Williams is an OB/GYN and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and also works as a Clinical Innovation Advisor for the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative and Medical Director for Mahmee, a maternal healthcare company dedicated to improving birth outcomes. She describes herself as a health equity warrior, which is reflected in her online conversation – 43% of which covers equity issues. As seen with other prominent voices, she has shared her own journey publicly, with a post during #MaternalMentalHealthWeek describing her experience with postpartum depression during her residency.

She speaks highly of the role of doulas and midwives for facilitating improved maternal mental health and birth outcomes, aligned to her work as Medical Director at Mahmee. Other recommendations she presented for developing women’s, specifically maternal, health, were utilising telehealth and expanding medicaid support.

CREATION.co classifies Amanda P. Williams as a Rising Star and Equity Advocate. While she has a modest following compared to others DOLs identified on this list, she has positioned herself as an expert and grown a focused community around maternal health equity.

Michal Elovitz 

Michal Elovitz is a physician-scientist in the field of Women’s Health, and is currently Dean of Women’s Health Research and Director of the Women’s Biomedical Research Institute at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is a leader and mentor passionate about empowering the next generation of researchers, particularly women looking to grow in science and medicine.

Her online conversation is heavily focused on research and emerging data, including calls for additional funding into women’s health research. As well as this, she has been outspoken on the need for more training in the OB/GYN field, particularly for increased expertise in care for menopause. Considered one of the world’s leading physicians in Maternal Fetal Medicine and internationally recognized for her cutting edge research, Michal Elovitz is not only a DOL in Women’s Health, but could also be considered a traditional KOL (Key Opinion Leader).

CREATION.co classifies her as a Scientific Leader due to her dedication to disseminating and improving women’s health research.

Jennifer Gunter

Jennifer Gunter, dubbed “Twitter’s gynecologist”, shares women’s health advice to her more than 350,000 followers. She is the author of various books, a New York Times columnist, and has declared herself as having “devoted [her] professional life to caring for women”. Dr Gunter is a board certified OB/GYN in both the US and Canada and currently manages a health clinic for women at The Permanente Medical Group of Kaiser Permanente in Northern California.  Her online voice is very raw and straight-speaking, giving realistic and unashamed descriptions of health challenges faced by women. Alongside a plethora of advice and rigorous information sharing, she describes her own journey and struggles through childbirth, stating her motivation is to eliminate misinformation. Often she will be found directly quoting unfounded claims to correct them and specifically calling out instigators of fake news. The focus of her online discourse includes menopause, sexual health and menstruation. On TikTok she has captured a “Menopause” playlist, covering hormone testing and starting hormone treatments.

CREATION.co classifies Jennifer Gunter as a Women’s health influencer; due to her vast following across platforms and mainstream journalistic contributions, she has a significant influence over discourse and thinking about women’s health.

Seeking improved outcomes for women

Each of these women, and thousands of other men and women like them, are passionate and determined in their desire to see improvements in the field of women’s health, from childbirth to endometriosis, infertility and menopause. The influence of these DOLs in the online narrative from the niche of women’s heart health to the extensive disparities experienced by women have significant opportunities to inspire and action real-world change, the impact of which would be felt globally.

By listening to this online conversation allows the industry to truly understand where DOLs passions lie and develop relationships to work towards effective change. As the leading provider of Digital Opinion Leader (DOL) identification, profiling and activation, CREATION.co helps clients understand who are the real top voices online.

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