In healthcare, gender differences matter. This is a deviation from the previous idea of developing a healthcare plan tailored to fit everybody. The rationale for gender consideration in healthcare is not to encourage discrimination but it is founded on the nature of women’s healthcare needs different from that of men’s. There are certain conditions that affect the women more then they do men and there are also conditions that affect women differently when compared to men. As an example, AIDS and heart attack are two medical conditions with signs and symptoms differently occurring in women. There are also conditions that only women experience such as pregnancy, childbirth and menopause. This means that healthcare programs should consider the healthcare needs of individuals as well as consider the healthcare needs of women. (Bird and Rieker, 1999)
There are several ways in which gender matters in the propensity of developing healthcare conditions. One is through gender roles and biological make-up (Bird and Riker, 1999). Although men and women both work to provide for the family, women generally carry the additional burden of pregnancy and child care. Another is through social expectations particularly family roles (Bird and Riker, 1999). Despite the equality of men and women in different spheres, many couples still practice the traditional role of men as income earners and women as homemakers. The implication of this situation to women is that women lack their own source of income.
Financial dependence of women to men for financial support in a relationship characterized by traditional gender roles means that women are poorer than their income earning partners (Doyal, 2000) so that in cases where couples separate, women are left without any immediate source of financial support together with the responsibility for the care of children. Women in a relationship are dependent upon their spouses for their healthcare needs while single mothers struggle to provide for the healthcare needs of their children often neglecting their own needs. The lack of financial support affects the ability of the woman to provide for the needs of the family such as food, clothing, shelter, education and healthcare (Doyal, 2000). In this situation, single parents carry the responsibility for earning income for the family and taking care of the children. This takes a toll on the physical and psychological well-being of women. Moreover, in most instances mothers prioritize the healthcare needs of their children or the family relative to their own healthcare.
This means that poverty or the lack of financial support for basic needs prevents women from accessing, obtaining and paying for healthcare services, medicine and nutrition. The impact of poverty to women’s healthcare is twofold. First, poverty influences women to prioritize the nutrition and healthcare needs of children and their family as dictated by gender roles, financial dependence or due to insufficient financial means. Second, poverty makes women unable to seek the appropriate and comprehensive healthcare services both as individuals and as women so that their particular healthcare needs are neglected.
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