Various concerns play a key role in the intersection of gender and health care. Women, mainly, are at the receiving end of these concerns. They are the most affected by barriers to health care due to gender disparities and inequity. Women bear higher of illness, disability, and mortality, due to their gender disadvantage. They also bear a greater burden of ill health and poor health care access because of their gender. The health inequalities come from political and cultural forces that stratify society across gender and other groupings. While numerous concerns exist at the intersection of gender and health care, the three most important are gender-based violence, immigration status, and cultural factors.
Gender-based violence is a serious concern at the intersection of gender and health care. The concerns relate to the harmful actions that are directed to a person due to their gender. Gender-Based violence refers to dangerous acts directed at an individual based on their gender. The problem has a foundation in gender inequality and power abuse by the dominant gender. Women bear the most significant burden of health care needs related to gender-based violence. They are the highest number of victims of violence that leave them with severe physical and psychological injuries (Gender-Based Violence Prevention, n.d). Some even die due to the injuries sustained in the course of the violence. The factor is at the intersection of gender and health care since it affects one gender more than the other, causing a high cost of health care to manage the effects.
Culture is another concern at the intersection of gender and health care. Culture is one of the leading causes of serious biases that hinder access to quality care. Biases in the Health System relate to type-cast men and men founded on conventional gender-based attitudes and roles (Gender-Based Violence Prevention, n.d). The cultural factors affect women as health care users and even as caregivers. For example, as caregivers, women face a huge demand for their services, leaving them vulnerable to emotional and psychological problems. At the same time, they dedicate much of their time to caregiving that they forget their health. Besides, some cultural assumptions could leave some women without adequate access to health care services (How Culture Influences Health, 2021). Due to cultural beliefs, some medical issues, such as pregnancy-related care, are not considered since some communities believe in home-based care or traditional midwives.
Immigration status is another concern that affects women due to their gender. Many women flee violence in their home countries, hoping for a better life in the receiving country. Unfortunately, due to the intersection of gender and their immigration status, they are assigned to the marginalized group that lacks adequate access to health care (Exploring the Intersections, 2017). Ironically, they need health care more than citizens due to their sending countries’ experience and the hardships they encounter in the migration process.
The three concerns at the intersection of gender and health care cause societal inequalities influenced by individuals’ material and psychosocial situations. Gender-based circumstances cause health inequalities that disadvantage women more than men. As a result, the health of the already vulnerable gender deteriorates, causing a considerable burden of care in the long term. Thus, any efforts to improve health equity should address the three and other concerns at the intersection of gender and health care.
References
Exploring the Intersections: Immigrant and refugee women fleeing violence and experiencing homelessness in Canada (2017). Retrieved from https://www.vawlearningnetwork.ca/our-work/reports/2017-plaintext-ESDC-CREVAWC-Meeting-Report-ACCESSIBLE.pdf
Gender-Based Violence Prevention: A Guide For Working With Newcomers (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ymcahfx.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/YMCA-Manual-online.pdf
How Culture Influences Health (2021). Caring for Kids New to Canada. Retrieved from https://kidsnewtocanada.ca/culture/influence
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
