Member's statement: British Heart Foundation: 'Bias and Biology' Report
Member's statement by Mrs Diane Dodds on .
- MLA
- Mrs Diane Dodds
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 18 November 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- British Heart Foundation: 'Bias and Biology' Report
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4655636
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The British Heart Foundation's 'Bias and Biology' report was launched in Parliament Buildings last Wednesday. The report highlights a very important element of healthcare in Northern Ireland: the systemic gender inequalities that exist across the cardiac care pathway.
It provides recommendations for closing that heart attack gender gap, which will improve outcomes and quality of life for women with heart disease in Northern Ireland. It is estimated that 26,000 women in Northern Ireland are living with coronary heart disease, which kills twice as many women each year as breast cancer. That is a statistic that I was not aware of, and it is really quite startling. In the region of 2,000 women will die annually in Northern Ireland from heart and circulatory diseases. There is insufficient awareness of a woman's risk of heart disease and heart attack, which negatively impacts on women's prospects of recovery. Women are more likely to receive a delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis after a heart attack and are less likely than men to receive timely, optimal care. There is also a lack of knowledge on the impact of the menopause and pregnancy on the likelihood of heart disease in women. The report calls on cardiovascular health to be a key component of the women's health action plan. I also recommend to Members the event in the Long Gallery on cardiovascular disease led by the Heart Failure Warriors coalition. In particular, you may have noticed the story of Nicole and Farrah, twin sisters who live in two different trust areas in Northern Ireland. One has had good aftercare after a diagnosis of heart failure, but the other has had no aftercare. That highlights the postcode lottery with services in Northern Ireland.
284 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.04 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.91).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.99).
- Subject area: Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.11 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.91 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.99 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.01 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.90 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.10 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:30 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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