Self-rated health among women and their assessment of the health care system
Samoocena zdravja med ženskami in njihov odnos do zdravstvenega sistema v Sloveniji

english

2013

volume 52, issue 2

Slovenia   woman

Inštitut za varovanje zdravja RS
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

Background: This article researches gender inequality in health based on subjective assessments of health, the accessibility of health care services and trust in the health care system between different social categories of women in Slovenia. Methods: The study is based on the Slovenian Public Opinion survey (ISSP Health Module) carried out in 2011 on representative samples of the adult Slovenian population. In the data, we investigated the gender differences and difference between different socio-economic categories within the female sub-sample in self-assessed health, and some other related topics such as: trust in doctors, trust in health care system, access to health care services and attitude to the health care policy in Slovenia. Results: The data shows significant inequalities in self-assessed health between different social strata. Self-assessed health is significantly lower among women at the bottom of the educational and income scale. The data also reveals strong support for the preservation of the available public health. Conclusion: Neoliberal economic reforms (of health care) affect vulnerable social categories the most, and women are particularly exposed. The use of women's unpaid work in the family belongs among the basic (neo)liberal saving strategies. These want to take more care and health work within families from the shoulders of the state and place it onto the shoulders of family members, which mainly means women. In these circumstances, it is understandable that women subjectively assess their health as being worse than men's. Moreover, conditions are being established that de facto could lead to worse health in the female population in Slovenia.

30.12.2013