[Women's preventive healthcare and health policy from the gender mainstreaming perspective]

Abstract

Feminist and gender mainstreaming perspectives can help expand consideration of women's health and preventive healthcare beyond maternal and reproductive care to encompass the multiple roles and life span experiences of women. Such a shift may encourage the adoption by nursing professionals of broader viewpoints that address contemporary women's health priorities and facilitate the delivery of more appropriate preventive healthcare. This article discusses the World Health Organization's gender mainstreaming and women's health policies, gender mainstreaming women's health policies in Taiwan, and the roles of nurses in women's preventive healthcare. Based on the Women's Health Policy White Paper proposed by Taiwan's Department of Health, when working with female clients, nurses should play multiple roles that include healthcare provider, information provider, educator, advocate, consultant and researcher. Strategies that may be employed to achieve these roles include: (1) Adjusting perceptions toward traditional reproduction; (2) Providing correct and sufficient medical information; (3) Considering possible adverse effects of medical interventions on women; (4) Considering the healthcare system as a probable stressor for women; (5) Considering women's medical environment and space; (6) Exploring the relationship between socio-culture and women's preventive healthcare and (7) Recruiting women as major subjects in healthcare research.