These stereotypical expectations are commonly referred to as gender roles. Gender affects many aspects of life, specially. In this article I'll focuses on describing how gender is a critical determinant of health and illness and how gender determines the differential power of controlling men and women over the their health and lives, their social position, status and treatment in society and their susceptibility and exposure to specific health risks. Also I will mention the differences between men and women from a health perspective, beside its relation with nursing (Rodney K, 2000).
Many researchers, including biologists, sociologists, have attempted to explain some of the reasons why differences in illness occur. Sociological explanations often focus on life style differences. For example, females may be treated as the weaker sex in some countries and their medical concerns may be downplayed or ignored. Limited financial recourses may limit access to health care facilities. Women's role as the primary care giver of the children may have both positive and negative impacts on her health. If the woman stays at home to raise her family, she may have less exposure to occupational hazards such as chemicals in the workplace (McGuire, 2002).
On the other hand, she may have higher exposure to household indoor air pollutants. She may also have less contact with people with whom she may be able to vent her worries and Frustration. Differences in behaviors may also play a role in differences in p prevalence of disease. Males tend to be risk takers, smokers, and consume alcohol more heavily than women. Men tend to be more reluctant to embrace prevent I on strategies. This has contributed to the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Dietary differences, with women consuming less protein and calcium, may contribute to anemia and increased osteoporosis risk in females (Abreu, Jose M, 2001).
Gender differences occur particularly in the rates of common health disorders - depression, anxiety and somatic complaints and dying. These disorders, in which women predominate, affect approximately 1 in 3 people in the community and constitute a serious public health problem. It is well-known that in most developed countries women outlive men. In 1996 in the UK a girl's life expectancy at birth is higher than boy's life expectancy. Although the ratio of male to female births (1:1.05 in 1991) might seem to give males an advantage, males in fact have higher rates of death (Meltzer H, 1995).
There are many differences that account for men and women regard health issues, but far away from medical side, traditional gender roles define masculinity as having power and being in control in emotional situations, in the workplace, and in sexual relationships. Acceptable male behaviors include competitiveness, independence, assertiveness, ambition, confidence, toughness, anger, and even violence. Traditional femininity is defined as being nurturing, supportive, and assigning high priority to one's relationships. Women are expected to be emotionally expressive, dependent, passive, cooperative, warm, and accepting of subordinate status in marriage and employment. Competitiveness, assertiveness, anger, and violence are viewed as unfeminine and are not generally tolerated as acceptable female behavior (Baljit M, 1995).
Moreover there are many differences in male and female regard health issue get clearer, observable and reaches a peak in late adolescence and early adulthood. Plenty of studies have shown that those differences are in some aspects of health not all. The British Health and Lifestyle Survey showed an excess in women of depression and problems with nerves, and as a group, sometimes differences could be obvious in certain symptoms, such as headaches and tiredness are some kinds of health problems. Another study from WHO showed that Women are more likely to seek help from and disclose health problems to their primary health care physician while men are more likely to seek specialist health care and are the principal users of inpatient care (Rosenfield S, 1989).
Men are more likely than women to disclose problems with alcohol use to their health care provider. In one of the experiments done in one of the Americans laps on one thousand men and women, the results showed that women have a higher prevalence for hemorrhoids at most ages, and of arthritis and rheumatism at older ages; but it also suggested a male excess of digestive disorders, asthma and back trouble in younger adulthood, and as expected a male excess in heart disease at older ages. Other results pointed out that men in the United States suffer more severe chronic conditions and have higher death rates for all 15 leading causes of death, and die nearly seven years younger than women. Another research proved that women who have little education are less likely to receive health care, especially antenatal care and assistance from trained health personnel during the delivery of their babies. More women with no education reported costs as a barrier to seeking health care (CDHS, 2000).
In addition to all above, technological and medical advances may have an impact on the outcome of disease treatment between the sexes. For years, females w e re excluded from drug trials, partly due to the fear of adverse fetal outcomes if the female would happen to become pregnant while on an Investigational drug. It was often assumed (occasionally incorrectly) that females would respond to the drug the same as males. However, females today are now more likely to be included in drug trials and the results of these trials may show that females react similarly or differently to a drug. Likewise, some surgical treatments may be more technically difficult on females due to smaller organ or blood vessel size. This may cause more surgical complications and lead to increased morbidity or mortality rates in females. As surgical techniques improve, one may note the complication rate differences between the sexes to lessen (K Hinds, 2001).
However, health-related beliefs and behaviors are important contributors to these differences. Men generally are more likely than women to adopt beliefs and behaviors that increase their risks, and are less likely to engage in behaviors that are linked with health. There are a number of possible beliefs and explanations for differences in men's and women's health have been put forward. These include biological risks, acquired risks relating to different behaviors or exposures, and differences in the propensity to recognize illness and to report symptoms of ill-health, and different access to, and use of, health care (Petticrew K, 1973).
Moreover, gender differences in health and health care are well documented. Women generally experience poorer health than men, although some studies have shown that the direction and magnitude of gender differences in health may vary according to the particular health outcome. Determinants of gender differences in health include biological (e.g. genetic and hormonal factors), psychological (e.g. gender images and identities, chronic stressors), behavioral (smoking, drinking, eating, physical exercise) and social factors (e.g. social support, socio-economic status). Research on patterns of health care utilization suggests that, in general, women have higher utilization rates of medical services than men, after controlling for health outcomes, although differences might be small. Various explanations for women's greater service use have been suggested: differences in social role, health knowledge, health status, sensitivity to symptoms, willingness to report health problems, acceptance of help seeking, compliance with treatment (Sabo D, 1995).
In sum, women have more frequent illness and disability, but It is well-known that in most developed countries women outlive men, but the problems are typically not serious (life threatening) ones. In contrast, men suffer more from life threatening diseases, and these cause more permanent disability and earlier death for them. One sex is "sicker" in the short run, and the other in the long run. There is no contradiction between the health and mortality statistics since both points to more serious health problems for men (Gordon DF, 1995).
