Content provided in partnership with

Health Care Industry

Steps for preventing infectious diseases in women

Emerging Infectious Diseases, Nov, 2004 by Mirta Roses Periago, Ricardo Fescina, Pilar Ramon-Pardo

Communicable diseases account for approximately 25% of deaths in most Latin American and Caribbean countries; illness from communicable diseases reaches 40% in developing countries. Mainly affected are poor women in rural areas. A medical approach is not sufficient to implement effective infectious disease prevention strategies in women, which would offset these numbers. Health policies must be changed, and social restrictions that circumscribe women need to be eliminated. In the long run, the only solution is to improve women's socioeconomic status. The following three steps are necessary for developing a prevention strategy: 1) a gender perspective must be incorporated into infectious disease analysis and research to target policies and programs. Data collected must be disaggregated by sex, age, socioeconomic status, education, ethnicity, and geographic location; 2) models must be developed and implemented that address gender inequities in infectious diseases in an integrated manner; and 3) outreach activities must be supported, using information, education, and communication strategies and materials for advocacy and training. Active participation of civil society groups is key to translating the strategy into specific interventions.

Most Popular Articles in Health: Fuel your workout: exercisers who eat before they work out have more energy ...; Soothe a dry, itchy scalp: 5 easy expert solutions; Cocktails and calories: Beer, wine and liquor calories can really add up. ...; The sour truth about apple cider vinegar - evaluation of therapeutic use; The, six best supplements you've never heard of: these secret weapons can ...; More »

**********

"... as the Millennium Declaration made clear, gender equality is not only a goal in its own right; it is critical to our ability to reach all the others."

In most Latin American and Caribbean countries, communicable diseases cause approximately 25% of deaths. This overall rate varies from country to country; it is higher in less developed countries. Communicable diseases; perinatal conditions and complications of pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum; and nutritional diseases represent approximately 5% of the illness in industrialized countries. That percentage climbs to 40% in developing countries and reaches 50%-60% in some areas where HIV/AIDS epidemics are widespread (1). As a consequence, a large decrease in deaths of women would be expected if infectious diseases decreased through effective prevention strategies.

In the developing world, infectious diseases mainly affect women in rural areas (2). Poor women are at a greater disadvantage for coping with these diseases because of their social environment. Several infectious diseases can be successfully treated with available drugs, and well-known methods are available to prevent many diseases. Much could be done to improve health services, including implementing earlier case detection and better treatment regimens.

A medical approach will not succeed by itself, however. Success will only be achieved when coupled with behavioral changes and a breakdown of social barriers that restrict women. In the long run, the only solution is to improve women's socioeconomic status; this requires educating them, which, in turn, accelerates their social and economic progress.

Women and Communicable Diseases: A Situational Analysis

An examination of health policies over the last 2 decades in most of the Americas illustrated the following points: 1) Women's health, in and of itself, rarely has been at the forefront of international development programs or national health planning and policies. 2) The focus on women's health in developing countries has been motivated largely by other concerns. As a rule, women have been viewed as the vehicles through which specific goals, such as family planning and child survival, could be achieved, rather than as the primary beneficiaries of or the partners in development programs. 3) The global agenda for preventing communicable diseases among women rests on two premises, namely, that understanding women's health in developing countries, particularly the health risks they face, is important for instituting appropriate interventions to address women's specific health needs, and that women's participation in health promotion and disease prevention is key to the health of families and communities worldwide.

Evidence collected in studies conducted in various countries shows that macrodeterminants--such as gender, ethnic origins, or race--play a major role in the degree of access to services and in the health status of populations. A study of racial inequities in health conducted in Brazil (3) examined infant deaths in relation to both race and level of education of the mother. For illiterate mothers, infant death rates neared 120/1,000 for black women, 110/1,000 for mulatto and dark-skinned women, and 95/1,000 for white women. Among mothers who had [greater than or equal to] 8 years of education, the rates were much lower--82 for black women, 70 for mulatto and dark-skinned women, and 57 per 1,000 for white women. These rates indicate disparities according to race. Black women need 4-7 years of education before the death rates of their infants are as low as those of infants born to uneducated white women, demonstrating the strength of the effect of ethnically based discrimination in health.

Health Care Industry

Steps for preventing infectious diseases in women

Emerging Infectious Diseases, Nov, 2004 by Mirta Roses Periago, Ricardo Fescina, Pilar Ramon-Pardo

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: News

Most Popular Articles in Health

Most Popular Publications in Health