Gender disparities in health

"[1] Identified by the 2012 World Development Report as one of two key human capital endowments, health can influence an individual's ability to reach his or her full potential in society.

[2] Yet while gender equality has made the most progress in areas such as education and labor force participation, health inequality between men and women continues to harm many societies to this day.

[3] Additionally, women are typically restricted from receiving certain opportunities such as education and paid labor that can help improve their accessibility to better health care resources.

[2] Apart from armed conflicts, areas with high incidence of violence, such as regions controlled by drug cartels, also see men experiencing higher mortality rates.

"[19] James Sherer of Rutgers University Medical School also found, "Many well-meaning and otherwise supportive healthcare providers feel uncomfortable when meeting an LGBT patient for the first time due to a general lack of knowledge about the community and the terminology used to discuss and describe its members.

Common mistakes, such as incorrect language usage or neglecting to ask about sexual orientation and gender at all, may inadvertently alienate patients and compromise their care.

[24] Women tend to have poorer health outcomes than men [citation needed] for several reasons ranging from sustaining greater risk to diseases to experiencing higher mortality rates.

[47] Additionally, low female to male numbers have also been recorded in other Asian countries – most notably in China where, according to a survey in 2005, only 84 girls were born for every 100 boys.

Often being placed in emergency and refugee settings, girls and women alike are highly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by military combatants, security forces, and members of rival communities.

[56] The sexual violence and abuse of both young and adult women have both short and long-term consequences, contributing significantly to a myriad of health issues into adulthood.

Examples of the above categories include depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol and drug use and dependence, sexually transmitted diseases, lower frequency of certain types of health screenings (such as cervical cancer),[58] and suicide attempts.

An eleven-country study conducted by WHO between 2000 and 2003 found that depending on the country, between 15% and 71% of women have experienced physical or sexual violence by a husband or partner in their lifetime, and 4% to 54% within the previous year.

While gender disparities continue prevalent in health, the extent to which it occurs within poor communities often depends on factors like the socioeconomic state of their location, cultural differences, and even age.

Breathing air tainted by the burning of solid fuels is estimated to be responsible for 641,000 of the 1.3 million deaths of women worldwide each year due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD).

This includes violent assault by men, child sexual abuse, strict regulation of women's behavior and movement, female genital mutilation, and exploitative, forced labor.

[4] Women and girls are also vulnerable to less well-documented forms of abuse or exploitation, such as human trafficking or "honor killings" for perceived behavioral transgressions and deviation of their social roles.

These acts are associated with a wide range of health problems in women such as physical injuries, unwanted pregnancies, abortions, mental disorders such as depression, and anxiety, substance abuse, and sexually transmitted infections, all of which can potentially lead to premature death.

[86] Studies have shown that women's involvement and participation in policy leadership and decision-making has led to a greater increase in conservation and climate change mitigation efforts.

When we analyze root causes, it is clear that women experience climate change with disproportionate severity precisely because their basic rights continue to be denied in varying forms and intensities across the world.

[84] Enforced gender inequality reduces women's physical and economic mobility, voice, and opportunity in many places, making them more vulnerable to mounting environmental stresses.

[83] Drought, flooding, and unpredictable and extreme weather patterns present life-or-death challenges for many women, who are most often the ones responsible for providing food, water, and energy for their families.

[106] The United Nations has identified the enhancement of women's involvement as a way to achieve gender equality in the realm of education, work, and health.

[4] A meta-analysis of 40 different women's empowerment projects found that increased female participation have led to a broad range of quality of life improvements.

[109] In Nepal, a community-based participatory intervention to identify local birthing problems and formulate strategies is effective in reducing both neonatal and maternal mortality in a rural population.

[110] Community-based programs in Malaysia and Sri Lanka that used well-trained midwives as front-line health workers also produced rapid declines in maternal mortality.

A potential explanation as to why there are disparate differences in health status and access between genders is due to an unbalanced sex ratio-for example, the Indian subcontinent has a ratio of 770 women per 1000 men.

Neglect of female children, limited or poor access to health care, sex-selective abortions, and reproductive mortality are all additional reasons why there is a severe inequity between genders.

Education and increased socioeconomical independency is projected to assist in the leveling of healthcare access between the genders, but there are sociocultural circumstances and attitudes concerning the prioritization of males over females that stagnate progress.

Sri Lanka has repeatedly been identified as a role model of sorts for other nations within this region, as there are minimal differences in health, educational, and employment levels between genders.

In regards to education, the gap between males and females is relatively small in primary and secondary schools, however, there is undeniably an uneven distribution of literacy rates between the various countries within this region.