The Patient Voice Database, De Roze Doos and Baob Brussels: united for greater inclusivity and equality for women in clinical research

Brussels, 16 December 2025 – Women continue to be underrepresented in medical research and clinical trials, despite the significant impact gender differences have on health and treatment. Medical research protocols have traditionally been based on male participants, meaning that innovation and research have mainly focused on men. As a result, the efficacy, dosage, and side effects of medicines and treatments for women often remain insufficiently understood. This leads to less appropriate care, more side effects, and a higher risk of misdiagnosis in women. The Patient Voice Database aims to help change this inequality, with the support of De Roze Doos and Baob Brussels.

The impact of gender inequality in medical research

A very recent report by the European Parliament highlights a critical lack of sex- and gender-disaggregated data in both epidemiological and clinical research. Clinical trials are the final step in developing a medicine or treatment, in which patients participate as part of a scientific investigation into whether a medical strategy or therapy is safe and effective for humans. The absence of sufficient sex- and gender-specific data hampers understanding of how common diseases manifest or progress differently in women.

Sarah Baatout, Deputy Director of Nuclear Medical Applications at nuclear research centre SCK CEN, states: “Medical research still focuses too often primarily on men. Women remain structurally underrepresented both as trial participants and in research roles with leadership responsibility. Molecules are often insufficiently tested on women, partly due to the complexity introduced by hormonal variations. The result is that women sometimes receive doses for which efficacy and safety haven’t been explicitly studied in them.”

“This means clinical studies insufficiently account for differences in disease presentation and treatment response between men and women. This leads to a clear gender imbalance in medicine: our understanding of how diseases manifest in women, how treatments may differ for them, and why they more often experience side effects lags behind — because they are not adequately involved in research.”

“It is therefore essential that we continue to highlight this issue and actively seek solutions. Initiatives like The Patient Voice Database play a vital role by making the diversity of patient voices more visible and contributing to more inclusive and representative research.”

The Patient Voice Database breaks the inequality – with support from De Roze Doos

The Patient Voice Database, an innovative platform created through collaboration between the Patient Expert Center and Curewiki, offers patients an accessible, safe, and GDPR-compliant way to register and make their voices heard in clinical research. Through short questions, users (entirely voluntarily and anonymously) can indicate which studies they are interested in participating in, allowing relevant research projects to reach the right target audience more quickly.

To involve more women in particular, The Patient Voice Database is partnering with De Roze Doos, a Belgian organisation that has been supporting young and expectant parents for more than 70 years across all stages of parenthood.

Peter De Clerck, CEO of Family Service (the organisation behind De Roze Doos), says: “De Roze Doos communicates daily with thousands of women in Belgium and focuses on inclusion, wellbeing, and empowerment during every key milestone of motherhood. This close relationship with women, combined with our reach via our gift boxes and digital platform, makes us well positioned to highlight and reinforce the importance of fair representation of women in clinical research and studies.”

Jean-Sébastien Gosuin from The Patient Voice Database adds: “In a joint campaign, we are calling on women to register in The Patient Voice Database so that their unique needs and experiences are finally systematically reflected in research and medical innovation.”

Baob also advocates for more women at the research table

Alongside De Roze Doos, Baob Brussels is also joining as a partner of The Patient Voice Database. This Brussels-based organisation fights for more inclusivity and representation in healthcare and policy, with a particular focus on women facing cancer and other serious diagnoses.

Juliette Berguet, founder of Baob, states: “As a young woman of colour and a mother, I see every day how significant health inequalities are: late diagnoses, long searches for care, loss of health, income, and dignity — and a painful lack of support to recover. I also see a lack of diversity and inclusivity behind the scenes of the medical world. In health debates, I am often one of the few women from diverse communities who speak up.”

“With Baob, I confirm my clear commitment: to ensure that every voice is heard, that every story matters, and that the health of all women is finally fully taken into account. Initiatives like The Patient Voice Database are essential to embed that voice in research, innovation, and the decisions shaping tomorrow’s healthcare.”

Patients in the driver’s seat: innovation and more inclusion in clinical research

Patients can decide for themselves which research they want to participate in — helping to actively shape the future of healthcare. The platform also increases the efficiency and representativeness of research, because researchers and hospitals can more quickly find motivated and suitable participants. All participation is voluntary, safe, and completely under the individual’s control: personal data is never shared without explicit consent, and the process is simple, so more women can be heard in influential studies and panels that contribute to better treatments.

Anyone who wants to help shape the healthcare of tomorrow can register at: www.thepatientvoicedatabase.org

Expecting mothers can access reliable, scientifically backed and medically validated information at every stage of parenthood via: www.derozedoos.be

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About the organisations

The Patient Voice Database is an innovative platform that connects patients directly with clinical trials, surveys, and other relevant research. The platform is a collaboration between the Patient Expert Center and healthtech start-up Curewiki, which developed a user-friendly system to match patients with research aligned to their profile and preferences. Through a few short questions, patients can discover safely, freely, and fully GDPR-compliantly which studies are suitable for them — while maintaining full control over participation and gaining more influence over healthcare decisions.

De Roze Doos is a programme by Family Service, which has been supporting (future) parents for more than 70 years with gift boxes, guides, and digital tools around pregnancy, birth, and early childhood. In developing new digital products, De Roze Doos exclusively uses reliable, scientifically backed, and medically validated information — offering young families both relevant benefits and high-quality information at key moments of parenthood.

Baob Brussels is an inclusive and multicultural non-profit working at the intersection of health, wellbeing, and personal and professional development. The organisation provides individual support to people directly or indirectly affected by cancer or long-term illness, as well as to caregivers — from diagnosis, through treatment, and especially afterwards. Baob Brussels also advises companies on facilitating a balanced and sustainable return to work after long-term illness, and runs awareness programmes in schools and institutions to ensure patients and caregivers are central to solutions and decision-making. More info: https://baob-asbl.be

Press contact:

Julien Hayen – PR Manager – WMH Project
M: +32 499 96 56 98
E: [email protected]