The Effect of Women’s Descriptive Representation on Premature Mortality

Social Forces ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 820-846
Author(s):  
Dana Patton ◽  
Richard C Fording
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Women’S Health ◽  
Women's Health ◽  
Premature Mortality ◽  
Premature Death ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Women Legislators ◽  
Underrepresentation Of Women

Abstract Although many studies have found that women legislators pursue policies important to women, we know relatively little concerning the effect of women’s descriptive representation (WDR) on women’s quality of life. We address this question by examining the relationship between the election of women state legislators and public health. Specifically, we estimate the effect of WDR on premature death rates from 1982 to 2010. We find that WDR serves to improve the well-being of both women and men. However, the effect of WDR on women’s health is contingent on several important factors. First, the health-improving effects of WDR are most strongly related to the descriptive representation of Democratic women. Second, the effect of Democratic WDR on women’s health, relative to men’s health, increases with the scale of the state’s Medicaid program. Finally, we estimate the mediating role of nine specific policies, finding that four policies mediate the effect of Democratic WDR on premature mortality. Overall, our results suggest that policy remedies aimed at improving the severe underrepresentation of women in government may help to improve the relatively low ranking of the United States on indicators of public health.

scholarly journals Female Same-Sex Legal Status and Its Implications to Women Who have Sex with Women’s Health and Well-being in Tanzania: A Public Health Lens

2021 ◽  
pp. 26-35
Author(s):  
Switbert R. Kamazima ◽  
Jackline V. Mbishi ◽  
Happiness P. Saronga ◽  
Saidah S. Bakar
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Women’S Health ◽  
Women's Health ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
The United States ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Health And Wellbeing

Same-sex relationships and marriages are increasingly becoming legal in some parts of the globe, in the United States and Europe, in particular. However, opposition is strong and same-sex marriage remains banned in many countries leading to uneven expansion of broader lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning rights globally. Researchers conducted a formative qualitative cross-sectional descriptive and retrospective study with women who have sex with women to, among other objectives, assess and document female same-sex legal status and its implications to these women’s daily lives, health, and wellbeing in Tanzania. Results indicate that female same-sex is illegal in Tanzania and same-sex activities are punishable on conviction by life imprisonment. As a result, female same-sex behaviors and practices are pushed underground due to fear of stigma, rejection, abandonment, discrimination, and violence from the law enforcement machinery and the general public. In turn, this situation restricts these women from utilizing healthcare services available, which endangers women who have sex with women’s health and wellbeing. Recommend for further multidisciplinary, comprehensive, and informative public health research among women who have sex with women to generate data that would facilitate improving healthcare professionals’ ability to diagnose, treat, control, and prevent illnesses among women who have sex with women in Tanzania.

scholarly journals Understanding the Spatial-Related Abstraction of Public Health Impact Goals and Measures: Illustrated by the Example of the Austrian Action Plan on Women’s Health

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 773
Author(s):  
Tatjana Fischer
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Women’S Health ◽  
Women's Health ◽  
Spatial Planning ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Political Awareness ◽  
Policy Paper ◽  
High Degree

The influence of spatial aspects on people’s health is internationally proven by a wealth of empirical findings. Nevertheless, questions concerning public health still tend to be negotiated among social and health scientists. This was different in the elaboration of the Austrian Action Plan on Women’s Health (AAPWH). On the example of the target group of older women, it is shown whether and to what extent the inclusion of the spatial planning perspective in the discussion of impact goals and measures is reflected in the respective inter-ministerial policy paper. The retrospective analysis on the basis of a document analysis of the AAPWH and qualitative interviews with public health experts who were also invited to join, or rather were part of, the expert group, brings to light the following key reasons for the high degree of spatial-related abstraction of the content of this strategic health policy paper: the requirement for general formulations, the lack of public and political awareness for the different living situations in different spatial archetypes, and the lack of external perception of spatial planning as a key discipline with regard to the creation of equivalent living conditions. Nonetheless, this research has promoted the external perception of spatial planning as a relevant discipline in public health issues in Austria. Furthermore, first thematic starting points for an in-depth interdisciplinary dialogue were identified.

scholarly journals Approaches to Reducing Risk of COVID-19 Infections in Prisons and Immigration Detention Centers: A Commentary

2020 ◽  
pp. 073401682095770
Author(s):  
Kate Kelly ◽  
Nai Soto ◽  
Nadi Damond Wisseh ◽  
Shaina A. Clerget
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Health Policy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Correctional Staff ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Detention Centers ◽  
Fast Spreading ◽  
Returning Home ◽  
The Face

Although often left out of public health efforts and policy decisions, prisons, jails, and detention centers are integral to community health. With an average of 650,000 citizens returning home from prison each year in the United States, and thousands of correctional staff members returning home every night, there are millions of touchpoints between outside communities and carceral settings. For this reason, carceral communities should be central to planning and policy making in response to the spread of the COVID-19 illness. As social workers and clinicians, we are urgently concerned that efforts to prevent COVID-19 infections in prisons are underdeveloped and inadequate in the face of a fast-spreading virus. In this commentary, we outline a set of public health, policy, and clinical recommendations based upon the existing literature to mitigate various risks to the well-being of carceral communities.

Empowering Women in the Face of Body Ideals: A Scoping Review of Health Promotion Programs

2021 ◽  
pp. 109019812110505
Author(s):  
Victoria Chinn ◽  
Eva Neely ◽  
Sarah Shultz ◽  
Rozanne Kruger ◽  
Roger Hughes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Women’S Health ◽  
Women's Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Holistic Health ◽  
Global Priority ◽  
Health Promotion Programs ◽  
Health Domains ◽  
The Face

Achieving women’s health equity and empowerment is a global priority. In a Western context, women are often disempowered by the value society places on body size, shape or weight, which can create a barrier to health. Health promotion programs can exacerbate women’s preoccupations with their bodies by focusing outcomes toward achieving an “ideal” body size. Women’s health promotion activities should be empowering if the desired outcomes are to improve their health and well-being long-term. This review sought to identify key elements from health promotion programs that aimed to empower women. A search was conducted in PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL complete, and Academic Search Premiere databases. The search yielded 27 articles that collectively reported on 10 different programs. Through thematic synthesis, each article was analyzed for (1) key program features employed to empower women and (2) how such programs evaluated women’s health. Seven themes resulted, of which five describe key empowering features ( active participation, social support, sustainable change, holistic health perspective, strength-based approach) and two evaluation characteristics ( assessment across multiple health domains and a mixed-method design). The findings from this review can assist health promoters to design and improve initiatives that aim to empower women.

scholarly journals Role of Globalisation in Women’s Health: A Key Issue

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Neelesh Pandey
Keyword(s):  
Infant Mortality ◽  
Women’S Health ◽  
Labor Force ◽  
Women's Health ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Son Preference ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Infant Mortality Rate ◽  
Indian Women

The health of Indian women is intrinsically linked to their status in society. Research on women’s status has found that the contributions Indian women make to families often are overlooked, and instead they are viewed as economic burdens. There is a strong son preference in India, as sons are expected to care for parents as they age. This son preference, along with high dowry costs for daughters, sometimes results in the mistreatment of daughters. Further, Indian women have low levels of both education and formal labor force participation. They typically have little autonomy, living under the control of first their fathers, then their husbands, and finally their son. All of these factors exert a negative impact on the health status of Indian women. Poor health has repercussions not only for women but also their families. Women in poor health are more likely to give birth to low weight infants. They also are less likely to be able to provide food and adequate care for their children. Finally, a woman’s health affects the household economic well-being, as a woman in poor health will be less productive in the labor force. While women in India face many serious health concerns, this profile focuses on only five key issues: reproductive health, violence against women, nutritional status, unequal treatment of girls and boys, and HIV/AIDS. Because of the wide variation in cultures, religions, and levels of development among India’s 25 states and 7 union territories, it is not surprising that women’s health also varies greatly from state to state. To give a more detailed picture, data for the major states will be presented whenever possible. The discrimination against the girl child is systematic and pervasive enough to manifest in many demographic measures for the country. For the country as a whole as well as its rural areas, the infant mortality rate is higher for females in comparison to that for males. Usually, though not exclusively, it is in the northern and western states that the female infant mortality rates are higher, a difference of ten points between the two sexes specific rates not being uncommon.

scholarly journals Exploring the Linkages between Substance Use, Natural Disasters, Pandemics, and Intimate Partner Violence against Women: A Rapid Review in the Context of COVID-19

Sexes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-522
Author(s):  
Andreea C. Brabete ◽  
Lindsay Wolfson ◽  
Julie Stinson ◽  
Nancy Poole ◽  
Sarah Allen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Women’S Health ◽  
Women's Health ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Partner Violence Against Women

Rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) and substance use have risen during the COVID-19 pandemic, with potentially enduring effects on women’s health. A rapid review was conducted on IPV and women’s substance use in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid review explored two separate research questions with a view to integrate the literature related to: (1) containment, social isolation, pandemics, disasters, lockdowns, and IPV; and (2) the relationships between substance use and IPV. Two different searches for each question were conducted between May and October 2020 and n = 47 articles were included. Women experience multiple physical and mental health consequences related to IPV that can be exacerbated by public health crises such as pandemics and disasters. Perpetrators may use these events as a tactic to threaten, isolate, or use coercive control. Similar tactics are reported in the complex relationship between IPV and substance use, where substance use can accompany IPV and/or be used as a coping mechanism for survivors. The findings highlight long standing women’s health concerns made further visible during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional research is needed to identify actions required to reduce gender inequities and harms associated with IPV and substance use, and to adequately tailor and prepare effective responses in the context of future public health crises.

scholarly journals An Elective Course in Women's Health Issues

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie A. DiPietro
Keyword(s):  
Women’S Health ◽  
Women's Health ◽  
Community Outreach ◽  
The United States ◽  
Likert Scale ◽  
Health Coverage ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Elective Course

Purpose: To develop, implement, and evaluate an elective course for the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum that provides students with a comprehensive overview of women's health across the lifespan and exposes them to social and economic issues that impact women's health. Case Study: At the time of this writing, the class has been delivered 3 times to a total of 56 students. Students read and discussed (both in-class and online) timely articles in women's health issues on topics including sex-based biology; women in clinical trials; maternal and child health; women's health coverage and access to care in the United States; gender and health communication; abuse and the role of healthcare professionals; and international issues in women's health and women's rights. Students completed a pre- and post-test; developed seminar presentations regarding women's health issues; wrote reflective essays about the course; and designed and implemented health promotion projects for National Women's Health Week (NWHW). At the end of the course, the number of correct answers on the post-test significantly improved from the pre-test (p<0.001). Through anonymous course evaluations, students indicated that the assignments fulfilled the learning objectives (mean 4.68 on a 5-point Likert scale) and the exercises were useful in helping their understanding of the material (mean 4.66 on a 5-point Likert scale). Over 500 women from the campus and community participated in the NWHW projects. Implications: An elective course was designed to educate pharmacy students regarding women's health issues and to provide students with an opportunity to perform community outreach.   Type: Case Study

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