Abstract

PIP: The male-dominated medical establishment continues to make health promotion policies for women. Women must have access to a more accurate information base about women's health and the link between their health and socioeconomic roles. They must be full partners in formulating and implementing health promotion strategies. Yet, such a database does not exist due to systemic bias in research. For example, research shows alcoholism affects men and women differently, but prevention and treatment strategies and evaluation of their outcomes do not take this into account. Further, men do not understand subjective aspects of female conditions. In addition, even though women provide most care in our society, health promotion policies do not incorporate their knowledge. Moreover, care of the sick can damage the health of the care giver. Statistics on women's health are lacking, e.g., exhaustion and depression as consequences of child care and housework, especially among poor women. Developed countries continue to use maternal mortality as a means of measuring reproductive hazard, but maternal death is a rarity. In fact, a reproductive mortality rate would be more applicable, which would include deaths from abortions, pregnancy, and contraception. Besides, birth control has real disadvantages, e.g., a painful medical procedure is needed to insert IUDs and they increase the risk of pelvic inflammatory disease. Paid employment has positive and negative effects depending on whether women are alone or have a partner and have children, their income, and educational level. Women in industry face considerable health hazards, e.g., textile workers at increased risk of several lung diseases. Appropriate expenditure on health and social services and sound economic policies at the central level will benefit women's health. Besides, when society values and supports all aspects of women's work and roles, women's health will achieve its potential.