Gender inequalities in health (Medical Sociology VII)

Dr A P Irungovel M.A., M.S.W., M.Phil., Ph.D.,

Recap

Thought about how health and illness are structured by society Considered the sick role, medicalisation, surveillance medicine and lay understandings of health

Considered different explanations about the impact of social class on health

A P Irungovel, Ph.D.,

Outline

Consider the evidence for an association between gender and health Look at completing explanations
Biological Social Structural

A P Irungovel, Ph.D.,

Gender Differences

Gender differences in health are often related to the maxim:

Women get sicker but men die quicker

Some evidence of this, but complex picture

A P Irungovel, Ph.D.,

Mortality Difference

In the UK, women generally life longer than men (National Statistics online)

Life expectancy at birth: by sex in the UK

A P Irungovel, Ph.D.,

Health care usage

More women than men consult their GP National

Statistics online
25 Males Females 20

Consultations with an NHS GP by sex and age 2001/02

15

10

0 0-4 5-15 16-44 45-64 65-74 75 and over

A P Irungovel, Ph.D.,

Limiting illness

Other statistics give a different picture National Statistics

online

2001 Census People in private households with a long-term illness

A P Irungovel, Ph.D.,

Gender differences

What do you think might account for the different levels of gender differences in the 3 areas:
Mortality Health

care usage Morbidity

A P Irungovel, Ph.D.,

Explaining Gender Differences

There are 3 different groups of explanations:

Biological

Social Roles
Structural factors

A P Irungovel, Ph.D.,

Biological Explanations

Biological explanations focus on genetic and physiological differences

Male and female bodies are different

But mortality and morbidity gaps change over time and between places So this does not see to be a sufficient explanation

A P Irungovel, Ph.D.,

Social Roles

The construction of normative ideas about masculinity and femininity has implications for health

Different risk behaviours

Alcohol, smoking Traffic Accidents major case of young male death

Gendered work

Occupational risks, domestic labour, unregulated markets

A P Irungovel, Ph.D.,

Do you think women and mens lifestyles and work can account for gendered differences?

A P Irungovel, Ph.D.,

Social Roles

Social relationships are also gendered

Womens responsibility for care includes maintaining the familys health

Womens roles in the family and community

Older single men more vulnerable to isolation

A P Irungovel, Ph.D.,

Social Roles

Gendered roles in reporting

Women and men are socialised to experience bodily sensations differently

Women say how they feel, men report physical sensations

Men may be more reluctant to seek medical advice

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Do you think there are gendered differences in the experiences of bodily sensations?
If so, how might this impact on health?

A P Irungovel, Ph.D.,

Social Roles

Gendered diagnosis

Women and men may get different diagnosis

Psychiatric disorder rather than Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Differences found in the prescription of drugs

Differences found in treatment

A P Irungovel, Ph.D.,

Patriarchal medicine?

Womens bodies are deemed to be inherently pathological

Defined by their unstable reproductive bodies

The medicalisation of menstruation, pregnancy and menopause leads to higher health care usage

Removing appointments related to reproduction evens out the statistics

A P Irungovel, Ph.D.,

Structural factors

Material circumstances make a different to health outcomes Differences between men and women

Power and resources in the home can leave women disadvantaged

Feminization of poverty

Differences between women Intersection with social class

A P Irungovel, Ph.D.,

Summary

Considered the relationship between gender and health Gendered roles and relationships have an important impact on health This intersects with other areas of social disadvantage
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Next week

Continue to consider health inequalities by focusing on ethnicity Look at explanations for ethnic differences and experiences of health patterns

What impact does racism have?

A P Irungovel, Ph.D.,