Social science & medicine
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Social science & medicine · Jun 2012
Women's health, men's health, and gender and health: implications of intersectionality.
Although intersectionality is now recognized in the context of women's health, men's health, and gender and health, its full implications for research, policy, and practice have not yet been interrogated. This paper investigates, from an intersectionality perspective, the common struggles within each field to confront the complex interplay of factors that shape health inequities. Drawing on developments within intersectionality scholarship and various sources of research and policy evidence (including examples from the field of HIV/AIDS), the paper demonstrates the methodological feasibility of intersectionality and in particular, the wide-ranging benefits of de-centering gender through intersectional analyses.
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Social science & medicine · Jun 2012
Review Meta AnalysisDecision aid tools to support women's decision making in pregnancy and birth: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Support for a model of shared medical decision making, where women and their care providers discuss risks and benefits of their different options, reveal their preferences, and jointly make a decision, is a growing expectation in obstetric care. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials evaluating the efficacy of different decision aid tools compared to regular care for women facing several options in the specific field of obstetric care. We included published studies about interventions designed to aid mothers' decision making and provide information about obstetrical treatment or screening options. ⋯ The Decision Analysis Tool was the only tool that presented evidence of an impact on the final choice and final outcome. Decision aid tools can assist health professionals to provide information and counseling about choices during pregnancy and support women in shared decision making. The choice of a specific tool should depend on resources available to support their use as well as the specific decisions being faced by women, their health care setting and providers.
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Social science & medicine · Jun 2012
The length of unemployment predicts mortality, differently in men and women, and by cause of death: a six year mortality follow-up of the Swedish 1992-1996 recession.
This study examines the relationship between the total amount of accumulated unemployment during the deep Swedish recession of 1992-1996 and mortality in the following 6 years. Nearly 3.4 million Swedish men and women, born between 1931 and 1965 who were gainfully employed at the time of the 1990 census were included. Almost 23% of these individuals were unemployed at some point during the recession. ⋯ In conclusion, mortality risk increases with the duration of unemployment among men and women. This was best described by a cubic function for men and a linear function for women. Behind this pattern, different causes-of-death varied in their relation to the accumulation of unemployment.
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Social science & medicine · Jun 2012
Intersectionality and gender mainstreaming in international health: using a feminist participatory action research process to analyse voices and debates from the global south and north.
Critiques of gender mainstreaming (GM) as the officially agreed strategy to promote gender equity in health internationally have reached a critical mass. There has been a notable lack of dialogue between gender advocates in the global north and south, from policy and practice, governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This paper contributes to the debate on the shape of future action for gender equity in health, by uniquely bringing together the voices of disparate actors, first heard in a series of four seminars held during 2008 and 2009, involving almost 200 participants from 15 different country contexts. ⋯ We analyse the debates and experiences shared at the seminar series using concrete, context specific examples from research, advocacy, policy and programme development perspectives, as presented by participants from southern and northern settings, including Kenya, Mozambique, India, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Canada and Australia. Focussing on key discussions around sexualities and (dis)ability and their interactions with gender, we explore issues around intersectionality across the five key themes for research and action identified by participants: (1) Addressing the disconnect between gender mainstreaming praxis and contemporary feminist theory; (2) Developing appropriate analysis methodologies; (3) Developing a coherent theory of change; (4) Seeking resolution to the dilemmas and uncertainties around the 'place' of men and boys in GM as a feminist project; and (5) Developing a politics of intersectionality. We conclude that there needs to be a coherent and inclusive strategic direction to improve policy and practice for promoting gender equity in health which requires the full and equal participation of practitioners and policy makers working alongside their academic partners.
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Social science & medicine · Jun 2012
Impact of war, religiosity and ideology on PTSD and psychiatric disorders in adolescents from Gaza Strip and South Lebanon.
This study investigated the extent to which differences in the types of war trauma, economic pressure, religiosity and ideology accounted for variation in PTSD and psychiatric disorders among adolescents from Gaza Strip and South Lebanon. Participants were 600 adolescents aged 12-16 years. They were selected from the public school system in the highly war exposed areas. ⋯ While higher levels of religiosity evidenced the greatest levels of depression and anxiety in adolescents from Gaza, religiosity had an attenuated effect on adolescents from South Lebanon. Ideology was negatively associated with depression and anxiety in Gaza strip adolescents, whereas it did not play a role for adolescents from South Lebanon. The clinical and research implications of these conclusions are discussed.