Читать книгу Health Promotion Programs - (SOPHE) Society for Public Health Education - Страница 50

While the overall health of American women has improved over the past few decades, significant disparities still exist. Many minority women continue to lag behind White women in access to care and quality of care, which is affecting health outcomes. Certain policy decisions have a high impact on women’s health. For instance, while there is good evidence that comprehensive sex education programs are effective in reducing abortion and poverty, and empowering women, federal support for these programs has vanished. Meanwhile, the United Nations and international health agencies have declared that accurate STD, HIV/AIDS, and other related information should be regarded as a basic human right.

Cultural, social, and structural factors also play a role in health differences between men and women. For instance, 1 in 3 women have experienced sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Similarly, women earn less than men: full-time female workers earn about one-fourth less than male counterparts in a given year. This contributes to higher rates of poverty among women compared to men, which in turn affects health and quality of life. There are also differences in the way women and men seek and receive healthcare services. These differences are in part due to how different people access the healthcare system and the provision of services. For example, women tend to use preventive and diagnostic services more frequently, whereas men make greater use of emergency service.