Subjective health, aging, and menopause among native and immigrant Jewish women in Israel

Abstract

This study compared the perceptions and practices of health between native Israeli women and recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union. A total of 315 respondents (aged 45-65 years, of Ashkenazi, that is, European, origin and middle-class background) were recruited through their workplaces and completed a structured questionnaire, followed by personal interviews (the latter not reported here). While "objective" health profiles of Russian and native Israeli women were rather similar, immigrant women typically perceived themselves as sicker and reported greater health-related damage to their lives than their native Israeli coworkers. More Russian women also reported mental disturbances and family problems, reflecting their vulnerable condition as immigrants. Israeli women were more aware of the "health promotion" discourse, but did not necessarily pursue healthier lifestyles (e.g., more of them smoked). Israeli-socialized women reported a higher number of perimenopausal symptoms and more often adopted the medicalized view of the menopause. The results imply that health interventions aimed at middle-aged women should be specifically tailored, accounting for different cultural constructions of aging and menopause.