This discussion paper brings together evidence and experience from around the world focusing on making health systems more gender responsive. There is a need to examine the various barriers as well as opportunities in order to make health systems work better for women, which has been a special concern for several decades now, by using a gender equality and health equity perspective. The paper uses a framework that combines WHO's six building blocks for health systems and the primary health care reforms propounded in the World Health Report 2008 on primary health care. Furthermore, the paper provides examples of what has worked and how, and ends with an agenda for action to strengthen the work of policy-makers, their advisers and development partners as well as practitioners as they seek to integrate gender equality perspectives into health systems strengthening, including primary health care (PHC) reforms.
How can countries chart their own course toward universal health coverage? Like many ambitious global goals, universal health coverage (UHC) remains an aspiration for many countries. The World Health Organization estimates that half the world's population lacks access to basic health services. Moreover, this already staggering number masks inequities that exist between and within countries: gaps between rich and poor, men and women, young and old, and among people of different ethnic backgrounds. UHC promises to give all people greater access to higher quality health services without the fear of financial hardship. But the task of turning this vision into reality poses a significant challenge for countries at all stages of economic development. In The Road to Universal Health Coverage, Jeffrey L. Sturchio, Ilona Kickbusch, Louis Galambos, and their contributors explore the ways in which the private sector is already helping countries achieve universal health coverage. Stressing the many positive aspects of UHC developments, the book focuses on the new health economy and the sometimes controversial dimensions of the private sector helping countries achieve UHC. Theoretical chapters are complemented by a series of case studies that explore the myriad ways in which private sector actors are already addressing UHC. What are the conditions required for countries to translate their successful experiences and policy promises into practical results for improved population health? In answering this question, the contributors examine the relationship between health employment and economic growth. They also analyze the critical success factors for private sector engagement in UHC, the role of healthy women in creating and sustaining healthy economies, and the role of the pharmaceutical sector. Looking to the political, economic, and social implications of moving from aspiration to implementation, The Road to Universal Health Coverage points the way to the many opportunities ahead as companies continue to work with governments and civil society partners to help achieve UHC. Jean-Louise Arcand, Héctor Arreola-Ornelas, Nathan J. Blanchet, Christine Bugos, Jim Campbell, John Campbell, Jr., Ibadat Dhillon, Donika Dimovska, Christian Franz, Michael Fürst, Louis Galambos, Belén Garijo, Adeel Ishtiaq, Sowmya Kadandale, Ilona Kickbusch, Felicia Marie Knaul, Jeremy Lauer, Robert Marten, Justin McCarthy, Harald Nusser, K. Srinath Reddy, Yasmine Rouai, Jeffrey L. Sturchio, Cicely Thomas, Tana Wuliji, Snow Yang, Pascal Zurn
The Urban Primary Health Care Project strengthened and expanded primary health care infrastructure and services with a focus on the urban poor in Bangladesh. The overall purpose of the project was to improve access to and utilization of efficient, effective, and sustainable high-quality primary health care services for the urban poor areas covered by the project, with particular focus on women and girls. The project provided preventative and curative services, including access to immunization, reproductive health services, limited curative care, nutrition-related services, community outreach on health issues, and assistance for women survivors of violence. In project areas, there were significant improvements in key indicators, including under-5 mortality, maternal mortality, total fertility, child malnutrition, and control of sexually transmitted infections.
Mental health has always been a low priority worldwide. Yet more than 650 million people are estimated to meet diagnostic criteria for common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety, with almost three-quarters of that burden in low- and middle-income countries. Nowhere in the world does mental health enjoy parity with physical health. Notwithstanding astonishing medical advancements in treatments for physical illnesses, mental disorder continues to have a startlingly high mortality rate. However, despite its widespread neglect, there is now an emerging international imperative to improve global mental health and wellbeing. The UN’s current international development agenda finalised at the end of 2015 contains 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG3, which seeks to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages. Although much broader in focus than the previous eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the need for worldwide improvement in mental health has finally been recognised. This Handbook addresses the new UN agenda in the context of mental health and sustainable development, examining its implications for national and international policy-makers, decision-makers, researchers and funding agencies. Conceptual, evidence-based and practical discussions crossing a range of disciplines are presented from the world’s leading mental health experts. Together, they explore why a commitment to investing in mental health for the fulfilment of SDG3 ought to be an absolute global priority.
This book presents a concise and comprehensive overview of the most important protective and risk factors for women's health, and reviews the main areas of medical science from a gender perspective. Numerous scientific experiments and studies have shown how gender differences significantly affect the clinical presentation of physical and mental health disorders as well as responses to treatments. This text highlights these issues, while at the same time reflecting on the practical implications of the theoretical knowledge presented. It also examines the organization of social and health services, which should increasingly take into account the specificities related to gender differences and where equality is based on truly embracing these differences. The final part provides insights into the experiences and testimonies collected by the authors of the book. Written by a multidisciplinary team of medical, psychosocial and humanities professionals, this book is of interest to health professionals and medical students.
Thinking Women and Health Care Reform in Canada explores why health care is a woman's issue and seeks to address gender equity in health services. Written by members of Women and Health Care Reform (WHCR), this collection establishes the importance of including gender in discussions and decisions surrounding health sector reform. In twelve concise chapters, Thinking Women and Health Care Reform in Canada addresses a wide range of issues, including obesity, maternity care, mental health of health care workers, and private health insurance. This thought-provoking collection is an essential read for students and researchers in the fields of women's studies, health sciences, sociology, and nursing, as well as for anyone who is looking for a new picture of health care in Canada.
Using a political economy of health, Gender, Globalization, and Health in a Latin American Context demonstrates how the development of health systems in Latin America was closely linked to men's participation in formal labor. This established an inherent male bias that continues to shape health services today. While economic liberalization has created new jobs that have been taken up mainly by women, these jobs fail to offer the same health entitlements. Author Jasmine Gideon explores the resultant tensions and gender inequalities, which have been further exacerbated in the context of health care commercialization.
In this innovative collection, leading thinkers in clinical medicine, sociology, epidemiology, kinesiology, education, and public policy reveal how health promotion is failing communities by failing women. Despite a longstanding consensus that social inequalities shape global patterns of illness and opportunities for health, mainstream health promotion frameworks continue to ignore gender at relational, household, community, and state levels. Exploring the ways in which gendered norms affect health and social equity for all human beings, Making It Better invites us to rethink conventional approaches to health promotion and to strive for transformative initiatives and policies. Offering practical tools and evidence-based strategies for moving from gender integration to gender transformation, this anthology is required reading for policymakers, health promotion and healthcare practitioners, researchers, community developers, and social service providers.
Editorial Board: Ahmet Görgen Alp Arısoy Berrin Ceylan Ataman Ceren Avcil Elif Gençkal Eroler Elvan Karaman Fabio Grassi Gökhan Ak Lan Lo Nilüfer Narlı Paulette Schuster Savaş Biçer Tuba Demirci Zeynep Üskül Engin CONTENTS I. WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT: ITS IMPACT ON POLITICS, PUBLIC SPHERE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS The Power of Words: How Silent Spring Sparked the American Environmental Movement through Debate and Diplomacy – Jayashabari Shankar The Other Side of Male Dominance: Prohibition of Pants – Zeynep Özlem Üskül Engin and Dolunay Çörek Akyıldız Gender Mainstreaming and International Organizations: NATO Example – Suat Dönmez Gender Mainstreaming in Türkiye within the Framework of the “European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life” – Zeynep Banu Dalaman The Development of Civil Society and the Women’s Rights Movements in Türkiye – Ahmet Görgen II. WOMEN’S CHALLENGES IN SOCIETY Colonial Prejudice Hunting the African Woman: The Case of Southern/West Cameroon (1916-2022) – Charles Nda Agbor The Relationship between the Girl Child Marriage Problem and Gender Inequality: The Case of Türkiye – Ayşe Nur Çiftçi Chinese Women in Transnational Marriage Migration – In Two British Cities – Lan Lo and Xia Lin Gendered Perceptions of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace in India – Naureen Bhullar, Chrysiynn D’Costa, and Ishani Roy Female Educational Leadership between a Rock and a Hard Place – Latifa Belfakir and Imane Zeryouh The Continuation of Gender Stereotyping and Patriarchal Mentality in the Post-Communist Albania – Enkelejda Cenaj The Effects of Gender Discrimination on Women’s Health – Şükran Başgör and Semra Elmas III. WOMEN AND LITERATURE Utopian Works by Two Feminist Writers: Herland and Yeni Turan – Senem Üstün Kaya Women Claim Agency and Subjectivity: Assia Djebar’s Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade – Ferma Lekesizalin Reconfigurations of Female Gender Performance and Proto-Radicalism in Rachel Crothers’ A Man’s World – Furkan Tozan This book has been published with the support of Istanbul Topkapi University, Turkey.
This book discusses the ethical and legal challenges related to innovations, with reference to both scientific research and emerging technologies. It analyzes scientific research with specific reference to experimentation, with a focus on vulnerable people (minors, women, people in developing countries), compassionate care, biobanks and ethical committees. In the context of emerging technologies, it examines the ethical and legal aspects of neuroscience, genomics, ICT, big data, biometrics, converging technologies, enhancement and robotics. The book provides conceptual tools and categories to help readers understand and acquire a critical awareness of the current debates in the field.
