J Dent Educ. 70(11_suppl): 35-37 2006
© 2006 American Dental Education Association
Clinical Relevance of Gender |
Agenda for Women’s Health Promotion: A Working Group Report
Shobha Tandon, B.D.S., M.D.S.
The accepted definition of "health" is a "state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity." This working group agreed that the health of women in particular, worldwide, demands considerable attention.
Though the women’s health movement has picked up in most nations since the 1960s, sharp contrasts exist between developing and developed nations, with both having unique challenges to resolve. A woman’s health can be a complex array of sociocultural, economic, biological, and psychological factors. Formulating an agenda of health promotion that includes all of these factors will require a lifetime approach.
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Health and Nutrition Problems Throughout the Life Cycle
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Women face a range of health and nutrition problems that change as they go through the life cycle. Examples for each age range are as follows.
Infancy and childhood (birth to nine years)
- Female infanticide
- Poor nutrition
- Poor access to health care
- Lower immunization rates
Adolescence (ten to nineteen years)
- Early childbearing and abortions (as a matter of fact, to date 60 percent of females get married before they even reach an age of eighteen years, according to a survey conducted in various nations)
- Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), especially AIDS
- Malnutritional disorders
- Substance abuse
The reproductive years (twenty to forty-four years)
- Unwanted pregnancies and abortions
- Complications from pregnancy due to poor accessibility to health care centers
- STDs, especially AIDS
- Malnutrition, especially iron deficiency anemia
The postmenopausal years (forty-five years and over)
- Chronic disorders such as cardiovascular disorders, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and diabetes, which are more prevalent in women due to their greater life expectancy and dimorphic hormonal picture
- Gynecological cancers
- Malnutrition
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Maternal Mortality, Anemia, and Other Diseases
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A major concern is the striking contrast between developing and developed countries in health status and maternal mortality rates (see Table 1
). The following statistics, which were startling to the working group, present a grim picture of the Southeast Asian and African nations:
- In Southeast Asia, 450 million adult women suffer from protein energy malnutrition.
- In nations like Pakistan and Bangladesh, 70 percent of women present with chronic energy deficiency.
- In Africa, 20 to 40 percent of women are malnourished.
- In Southeast Asia and Africa, 19.2 million women live with AIDS, according to a 2003 World Health Organization report.
Developing countries like Nepal show a strikingly high rate of maternal mortality, and countries undergoing economic transition, like India, also reveal a sad picture. As compared to these nations, developed countries like the United States have a far better rate.
More than 60 percent of women in Southeast Asian nations and 80 percent of pregnant women in India suffer from iron deficiency anemia. Approximately 2.5 million women suffer from iodine and vitamin A deficiency, and the maximum number of reported cases is in the Asian countries.
The burden of various diseases affecting females from ages fifteen to forty-four in developing countries is estimated to be as follows:
- Maternal health- and pregnancy-related causes: 18 percent
- Sexually transmitted disorders: 16 percent
- Communicable diseases: 16 percent
- Noncommunicable diseases: 14 percent
- Domestic violence injuries: 12 percent
- Depression and psychiatric conditions: 12 percent
- Malnutrition: 6 percent
- Cardiovascular diseases: 6 percent
These issues require global steps for implementation.
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Health Promotion Agenda for Women
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After examining data from the developing nations and discussing the unique problems of multitasking by women in developed nations as well as countries in economic transition, the working group discussed barriers hindering the path for the success of a proper health promotion agenda for women, particularly in the developing nations. These barriers were culture, tradition, and religion; socioeconomic status; illiteracy; the unequal distribution of public health services; the unavailability of hospital-based maternal care; the absence of proper programs for maternal and child health promotion; a lack of integration of health services; a lack of awareness and resources for oral health care for women; the absence of a body of working women, particularly for the health of women in these nations.
Following are the highlights of an agenda, discussed by the working group, for women’s health promotion for both developing countries and those in economic transition:
- integrating health services and access to health care for all to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots;
- directing efforts globally toward maternal and child health care for lifelong health;
- battling sexually transmitted diseases in all nations;
- offering nutrition and immunization programs for the proper care of female children;
- requiring institutional births, especially in countries where home deliveries are still practiced;
- training medical and paramedical workers at primary and secondary health centers to take care of themselves properly (a regular assessment and updates are also required);
- formulating a United Nations women’s working group for raising awareness of women’s health issues;
- following role-model countries like the United States to improve women’s health; and
- allocating funds from international organizations to improve women’s general and oral health.
The working group adjourned with a commitment to implement all the policies for improving women’s health status on the above agenda for women’s health promotion.
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Footnotes
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Dr. Tandon is Dean, College of Dental Surgery, Manipal Academy of Higher Education. Direct correspondence to her at College of Dental Surgery, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal-576119, South India; drtandons{at}yahoo.com.
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Health and Nutrition problems...
Maternal mortality, anemia, and...
