I think that's an excellent question.
On the research front, it's probably a multi-faceted problem. On the one hand, to make real changes in endometriosis we need to see sustained investment in research areas. Certainly, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research have been investing more in women's health research more recently, which is really wonderful to see. I think to catch up on this issue, continued ongoing investment in areas that are prioritized, particularly by the patient community, would be important for change.
There's also a little bit of a researcher pipeline problem in the sense that when there's unawareness of a disease, you're not necessarily bringing people into that field to investigate the issue.
It's at once about how our research funders can invest in the problem, thereby contributing to solutions, and also about bringing folks into the field who might not have been there before.
On the chronic disease surveillance front, I think that's a question we would almost have for the committee. It's very difficult for us to understand how those priority areas are set, given how common endometriosis is among Canadians and the burden that it has over the course of a lifetime. We're talking about a disease that can start when you're 12 or 13 and continue to menopause and beyond.
Certainly, understanding how to make changes in that area would be important. We say that if you can't measure it, you can't fix it. Having a better sense of what the burden is and how it's changing over time would be really important for making change.