PSYC 2618 Gender and Health

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PSYC 2618 Gender and Health

• Gender makes a difference in the kinds of illness
  that people experience.
• Women are at risk of ovarian cancer men are at
  risk of prostate cancer
• The female body has more fat and less fluid than
  the male body resulting in differences in
  metabolism of toxic substances or chemical
  substances such as alcohol.

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• Health Psychology
• attempts to understand how people stay healthy,
  why they engage in risky behavior, why they
  develop illnesses, and how they respond to
  illnesses.

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Bias against women

• Women are often neglected in medicine and medical
  research.
• Gender stereotypes thrive in medicine.
• Medical care provided to women is often
  inadequate or irresponsible.
• Women often receive too much health care or too
  little ie., C-section, hysterectomies.
• Women are less likely to have insurance.

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Health issues in developing countries

• Female genital mutilation
• involves cutting or removing the female genitals
  part or all of the clitoris is removed.
• Not the equivalent of female circumcision

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Gender differences in life expectancies

• The average life span for women in the US is 80
  for men it is 73.
• Men have a higher mortality (death) rate.
• Men are more likely to die from suicide,
  homicide, and motor vehicle accidents. More men
  are exposed to dangerous substances at work.
• Women seek medical attention more often

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Morbidity illness

• Women have higher morbidity rate than men.
• Women are more likely than men to have problems
  such as obesity, anemia, and respiratory illness.
• Women are more likely to experience chronic,
  lifelong illnesses, headaches, and general
  fatigue.

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Heart disease

• Most common cause of death in women.
• To prevent heart disease, diet, maintain
  appropriate body weight, exercise.
• Women who work outside the home are no more
  likely than other women to experience heart
  disease.

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Breast Cancer

• 180,000 women in the US are diagnosed with breast
  cancer each year.
• Early detection leads to better prognosis.
• Self-examination and mammogram help with
  detection.
• Women 50 years and older should have a mammogram
  every year.

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Cont.

• When breast cancer is detected the most common
  procedure is a lumpectomy.
• Breast surgery causes fear.
• Some women with strong family history of breast
  cancer have chosen to have both breasts
  surgically removed in their 30s and 40s, to avoid
  developing breast cancer.

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Reproductive system cancer and hysterectomies

• Types of reproductive system cancer
• cervical cancer
• ovarian cancer
• cancer of the endometrium
• Test for cervical cancer with a Pap Smear
• Treatment of reproductive system cancers
  sometimes involves hysterectomies.

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Osteoporosis

• Bones become increasingly porous and brittle.
• Most common cause is the loss of bone mass
  following menopause. Fractures are more likely.

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Women with disabilities

• Disability is defined as a restriction or lack of
  ability to perform an activity in the manner
  considered normal.
• Ableism
• Discrimination on the basis of disability.
• White men are nearly twice as likely as white
  women to participate in the labor force.

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Cont.

• Women with disabilities often complain that they
  do not receive adequate counseling on sexuality.
• Womens sexual desires are likely to be ignored.

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AIDS and other STDs

• AIDS
• The incidence of AIDS is relatively high among
  Black women, somewhat lower among Latinas, and
  equally low among As-Am, Native Am, and Eu-Am.
• HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus
  that destroys part of the immune system.

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Cont.

• AIDS is actually the end stage of the HIV
  infection.
• AIDS is the illness that occurs when the
  individual becomes seriously ill because other
  infections have taken advantage of a severely
  weakened immune system.
• People with HIV are likely to experience
  depression, anxiety, anger, guilt and fear

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Cont.

• If a woman decides to have sex, her sexual
  partner is not only that individual, but all of
  that individuals former partners, and their
  partners.

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Other Sexually transmitted diseases (See Table
11.1)

• Chlamydia
• Genital Herpes
• Genital Warts
• Gonorrhea
• Syphilis

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Women and Substance Abuse

• Smoking
• cigarette smoking is the largest preventable
  cause of death in the US
• Reasons to start smoking
• control weight and keep slim
• look more mature and sophisticated
• More difficult for women to quit than men. Why?
  Associated with depression, more physiologically
  addicted,concern about weight

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Cont.

• Alcohol abuse
• a pattern of alcohol use that leads to
  significant distress or impairment.
• One symptom is blackouts
• Women who drink 2 drinks a day seem to double
  their chances of breast cancer.
• May also lead to liver problems, ulcers, brain
  damage, high blood pressure, and various cancers.
  Pregnant women ? FAS

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• Cont. Alcohol abuse
• Men are 3 X more likely to abuse alcohol than
  women.
• Among college students, a large percentage engage
  in binge drinking (4 drinks in a row for
  females/5 drinks in a row for males during the
  preceding 2 weeks.)

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• Cont. Alcohol
• When a male and female with the same body weight
  consume the same amount of alcohol, the woman
  will have a significantly higher blood alcohol
  level.
• Society disapproves if a woman gets drunk at a
  party women may therefore be more reluctant to
  admit they have a drinking problem

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Other substance-abuse problems

• Women more likely to use sedatives and
  tranquilizers these are more socially acceptable
  because they are prescribed by a physician.
• Men are more likely to use illicit drugs however
  the report by the National Center on Addiction
  and Substance Abuse (1996) concluded that females
  between the ages of 12 and 18 are just as likely
  as males to use illegal drugs.
• Eu-Am women are morel likely than Black or Latina
  women to have tried illegal drugs at some point
  in their lives.