[EQ] How can gender equity be addressed through health systems?

How can gender equity be addressed through health systems?

Sarah Payne, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
Joint Policy Brief #12, 2009
World Health Organization, on behalf of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies

Available online as PDF file [45p.] at: http://www.euro.who.int/document/E92846.pdf

Key messages (English, French, German and Russian): http://www.euro.who.int/HEN/policybriefs/20090924_1

“………Gender differences in health and in how well health systems and health care services meet the needs of women and men are well known: in Europe, there are variations in terms of life expectancy, the risk of mortality and morbidity, health behaviours and in the use of health care services. There is also increasing research evidence demonstrating the importance of a number of different social determinants of health, and these interact with gender inequalities in ways that can magnify the impact on health.

Additionally, there has also been an increasing recognition that health policy may exacerbate gender inequalities when it fails to address the needs of either men or women, and that health systems must address gender equity. This forms part of good stewardship, as well as meeting the needs of the populations served. Gender equity objectives have also been identified in position statements from WHO, the United Nations and the European Union (EU).

For the purposes of this policy brief, the ‘policy problem’ is the way in which health systems might address gender equity in order to reduce the health gap between men and women and to improve efficiency.

This document identifies some of the main approaches used to address gender equity in health systems, elaborating on three examples in order to suggest how these methods might be developed in the context of health policies across Europe…..”

Contents

Key messages

Executive summary

Policy brief

The policy issue: gender equity in health systems and health care services

Approaches for gender equity

Policy approaches: three examples

Facilitating implementation

Summary

References

 

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