In the context of increased rural-urban migration, social exclusion of some of the recent urban arrivals and the sharp change in life style in urban communities, some of the most critical health problems of older people may be found in cities. This paper attempts to characterize the general health condition of older women (50 years and over) in Accra, Ghana's capital city. It employs secondary analysis of data from the Accra WomenÔÇÖs Survey, 2004. The findings broadly suggest that an overwhelming majority of older women lack basic education, are not in any form of paid employment, and are widowed, separated or divorced. 3% the women rate their general health condition as excellent, 18% as very good, 41 % as good. 35 % believe there health condition has worsened in the last 12 months. Such perception of deterioration in health status is associated with increasing age. Almost 4 in 5 older women have difficulty climbing stairs and have pains in their joints: 53 % have malaria, 42 % have high blood pressure, and 8% have diabetes. Thus, older women in urban Ghana are experiencing a double burden of disease. They are afflicted with the common tropical diseases such as malaria, while simultaneously experiencing chronic illnesses such as hypertension and diabetes. Older personsÔÇÖ concerns have remained marginal to the major social and economic debates in the country. Health services need to be oriented to responding to chronic as well as infectious diseases among ageing individuals.
Women account for nearly half of HIV infections worldwide and almost two-thirds of those among young people, with female infections rising in almost every region. Yet twenty-five years into the global AIDS epidemic, there is still no widely available technology that women can both initiate and control to protect themselves from HIV. Due to gender norms and inequalities, many women and girls lack the social and economic power to control key aspects of their lives, particularly sexual matters. As a result, women are in a difficult, and often impossible, situation when it comes to negotiating with their partners over abstinence, fidelity, or condom use.
In dit themanummer: gesprek met Ayaan Hirsi Ali, waarin ze terug en vooruit kijkt, met name op het gebied van werk: een psychologe over hoe je grenzen kunt verleggen: manieren om een langdurige relatie spannend te houden: gesprek met Sylvia Kristel, hoofdrolspeelster in erotische films, over haar leven: drie vrouwen vertellen over hun rouwproces toen hun minnaar overleed: spannende hobby's: zoeken naar medische informatie op internet: gesprek met Sylvia Borren, directeur van Oxfam Novib, over haar werk, jeugd, biseksualiteit: aandacht voor het boek 'Self-made man' (Onder mannen), waarin Norah Vincent verslag doet van de tijd dat ze als man (verkleed) leefde: vrouwen en beleggen: vijf vrouwen die een eigen zaak begonnen: angsten overwinnen: je baan spannend houden: breken met het geloof van je ouders: polyamory: vrouwen aan de top van de wapenindustrie: de betekenis van dromen: goede doelen-vakanties: psycholoog en schrijver Jeffrey Wijnberg langs de Feministische Meetlat.
Schorer wil een gezondheidswebsite ontwikkelen voor lesbische vrouwen. Verslag van het fundraisingdiner dat Marjan Sax, politicoloog en medeoprichter Mama Cash, organiseerde voor de gezondheidswebsite.
Oktober is wereldwijd uitgeroepen tot borstkankermaand, Pink Ribbon. De editie van 2006 heeft het thema 'Leven, liefde en Feeling Beautiful'. Roze is de kleur van verzoening, spijt en van vrede stichten. Tien bekende Nederlandse vrouwen gekleed door tien ontwerpers vertellen kort over leven en liefde. Andere beroemdheden vertellen over wat voor hen het ultieme geluk is en weer anderen over hun beste vriendin die borstkanker heeft of heeft gehad. Een mamapoli is een polikliniek in een groot ziekenhuis geheel gericht op borstkanker. Ook wordt ingegaan op het verliezen van dierbaren aan borstkanker. Drie mannen reageren op 8 borstenstellingen en een open vraag. Directeur Groninger Museum Kees van Twist stelde de Pink kunstcollectie 2006 samen. Met een interview met actrice en filmregisseur Willeke van Ammelrooy en Pink Dossier 2006 over de laatste ontwikkelingen en ontdekkingen rond borstkanker.
Author investigates the interaction between the subjective and objective occupational conditions in affecting the overall health of women workers in industries that have accommodated information technology. The sample consisted of 23 establishments and 630 women respondents. Results show that the most prevalent issues among workers in the electronics industry included the need to upgrade skills, repetitive and fast paced work, pressure at work, and work that entailed both physically and mentally demanding tasks. It was found that the overall good physical health of the workers was affected by these factors: overtime, mental work, close monitoring, medium industries, poor quality of work, and hazardous work. Contrary to the belief that IT is light and stimulating, assembly line workers have reported rather issues in both objective and subjective occupational conditions affecting their health.
In virtually all societies, the managers of indigenous knowledge systems that deal with the development, care and well-being of women and children are senior women, or grandmothers. In that function, grandmothers are expected to advise and supervise the younger generations. However, most development programs neither acknowledge their influence nor explicitly involve them in efforts to strengthen existing family and community survival strategies.
Despite international agreements and national laws, marriage of girls younger than 18 years of age is common worldwide and affects millions. Child marriage is a human rights violation that prevents girls from obtaining an education, enjoying optimal health, bonding with others their own age, maturing, and ultimately choosing their own life partners. Child marriage is driven by poverty and has many effects on girls' health: increased risk for sexually transmitted diseases, cervical cancer, malaria, death during childbirth, and obstetric fistulas. Girls' offspring are at increased risk for premature birth and death as neonates, infants, or children. To stop child marriage, policies and programs must educate communities, raise awareness, engage local and religious leaders, involve parents, and empower girls through education and employment.
Lesbian and bisexual women have particular health disparities compared with heterosexual women, largely due to their marginalised status and associated experiences of homophobia and discrimination. Australian health research is contributing to this marginalisation and to the ignorance of health care providers by failing to identify the sexual orientation of participants in population-based studies and therefore failing to highlight lesbian and bisexual health issues. Inclusion is hampered not only by systemic limitations, but also by ethical and methodological challenges
The subject of this issue is Gender and Health with articles on women and men with medicine, more fathers want to attend, reproductive health and health and being happy.
Qualitative research and population based survey on 3,130 women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in urban and rural areas of Bangladesh to study the prevalence and consequences of domestic violence against women and their coping strategies. Sixty percent of women reported ever being physically or sexually abused during their lives. Their husbands were the most common perpetrator. Two-thirds of the abused women have never talked about their experience of violence and almost none accessed formal services for support. To address this major public health problem, the prevailing attitudes that permit and encourage male violence against women must be directly addressed.
In dit themanummer naar aanleiding van Pink Ribbon, oktober borstkankermaand, onder andere een interview met actrice Joke Bruijs over haar leven met borstkanker en wordt er aandacht besteed aan de noodzaak van het Bevolkingsonderzoek Borstkanker. Ook vertellen zes vrouwen over hun leven na borstkanker.