Are Americans #HysterectomySmart?

Fact Sheet

#Hysterectomy411 

We polled* more than 2,000 Americans to learn their awareness of hysterectomy and their attitudes toward communicating about their health conditions. Sample questions included “what happens during the procedure known as a hysterectomy?” and “have you or someone you know had the procedure known as a hysterectomy?” We also wanted to learn how comfortable Americans are with discussing their health conditions with friends, doctors and via the Internet, such as social media accounts.

How familiar are Americans with the procedure known as hysterectomy?

• Almost half (44 %) of Americans are incorrect or do not know what procedure a hysterectomy is.
  • 29 % guessed incorrectly and 16 % saying they were not at all sure. The incorrect response that one in four (25 %) Americans selected was the removal of the ovaries. Fewer selected the removal of the appendix, breasts, or gall bladder (1 % each) and less than 1 % selected the removal of the kidneys or tonsils. 1 % said a hysterectomy was something else.
  • Adults ages 18-34 (29 %) are significantly more likely than those ages 35-44 (17 %) to say they are not at all sure what a hysterectomy is.
  • Women are more likely than men to answer correctly – 64% vs. 47%, respectively.
  • Men are more likely than women to have said they were not at all sure – 22% vs 10%, respectively.
• More than half of U.S. adults know someone who has had a hysterectomy, with women being more likely than men to know someone who has had the procedure.

“I am comfortable discussing my health conditions with my friends in person.”

The majority (73%) say they agree with this statement, with more than one in four (28%) strongly agreeing and 45% somewhat agreeing. Just over one in five (22%) disagree with this statement, with 15% somewhat disagreeing and 7% strongly disagreeing. 5% of Americans say this statement is not applicable to them.

• Younger Americans (ages 18-34) are more likely to agree with this than those ages 45+ (78% vs. 71%).

• Women feel more strongly about it than men.
  • Women are more likely than men to say they are comfortable discussing their health conditions with their friends in person (77% vs. 69%, respectively).
• But there are some health matters that women are less inclined to discuss with their friends. More than two in five (42 %) American women are embarrassed talking about their gynecological health with their friends.
• Symptoms that may lead to a hysterectomy are hard to talk about. More than two in five U.S. women (41 %) say there are some conditions they are unlikely to discuss with their doctors, including pelvic pain during intercourse (22 %) and painful menstruation or heavy menstrual bleeding (both 9 %).
• 29 % of women say that they feel more uncomfortable talking about their uterus than their breasts.
• No matter whom they discussing their health conditions with, a vast majority of Americans (92 %) believe it’s important to get a second opinion from another doctor before having a surgical procedure.

“I am comfortable discussing my health conditions via my social media accounts (e.g., Facebook, Twitter).”

A majority of Americans (69 %) disagree with this statement and are not comfortable discussing their health conditions via their social media accounts.

• Nearly one in five (19%) say they agree with this statement, with 8% strongly agreeing and 11% somewhat agreeing.
• 12% of Americans say this statement is not applicable to them.
• Adults ages 18-44 (30%) are significantly more likely than those ages 45-64 (12%) to agree with this statement. Both groups are more likely to agree with this than those ages 65+ (4%).

“I only discuss my health conditions with my doctor(s).”

More than half of Americans say they only discuss their health conditions with their doctor(s).

• More than half of Americans say they only discuss their health conditions with their doctors; however, 19 % of Americans say they are comfortable discussing their health conditions via their social media accounts, with younger adults being more likely to feel this way than those ages 45+.
  • Younger Americans (under 44) are likely to discuss their health on social media.
  • When discussing health conditions online, 21 % of adults prefer to do so anonymously or under a different name.
• When asked what topics they’d be among the least likely to discuss with their doctor, more than one in five women say they’d struggle to talk about pain during intercourse.

How comfortable are women talking about their bodies?

 “I feel more uncomfortable talking about my uterus than my breasts.”

• Close to three in ten women (29%) agree that they are more uncomfortable talking about their uterus than their breasts, and younger women are more likely to agree with this statement than women over age 35.
• A majority (71%) disagree with this statement

“I feel embarrassed talking about my gynecological health with my friends.”

• More than two in five women (42%) say they agree with this statement, with 14% strongly agreeing and 28% somewhat agreeing. Almost three in five (58%) disagree with this statement, with one in three (33%) somewhat disagreeing and one in four (25%) strongly disagreeing.

How do they feel about procedures including hysterectomy and mastectomy?

• Three in ten women say that if they had to choose, they would rather avoid having a hysterectomy than a mastectomy.
• Among women who have not had a hysterectomy, 18 % say they would feel less attractive to their partner after a hysterectomy. Interestingly enough, only 14 % of women who have had a hysterectomy say they feel less attractive to their partner after their hysterectomy.
• Among women who have not had a hysterectomy, 26 % say they would feel like less of a woman after a hysterectomy. Yet, only 15 % of women who have had a hysterectomy say they feel less like a woman after their hysterectomy. Nearly half of women say they would feel less like a woman after a mastectomy.

# # #

*Source – Harris Poll: This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Hysterectomy.org from February 11-13, 2015 among 2,026 adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Laura Bond Williams, 512.497.8035.