Question

if you were planning a nursing study, which design(s) would be appriate to determine if there are differences in health promoting behaviors between men and women? Describe why

Answer 1

Women and men are different as regards their biology, the roles and responsibilities that society assigns to them and their position in the family and community. These factors have a great influence on causes, consequences and management of diseases and ill-health and on the efficacy of health promotion policies and programmes. This is confirmed by evidence on male–female differences in cause-specific mortality and morbidity and exposure to risk factors. Health promoting interventions aimed at ensuring safe and supportive environments, healthy living conditions and lifestyles, community involvement and participation, access to essential facilities and to social and health services need to address these differences between women and men, boys and girls in an equitable manner in order to be effective. The aim of this paper is to (i) demonstrate that health promotion policies that take women's and men's differential biological and social vulnerability to health risks and the unequal power relationships between the sexes into account are more likely to be successful and effective compared to policies that are not concerned with such differences, and (ii) discuss what is required to build a multisectoral policy response to gender inequities in health through health promotion and disease prevention.

There is overwhelming evidence from all fields of health research that women and men are different as regards their biology (sex differences), their access to and control over resources and their decision-making power in the family and community, as well as the roles and responsibilities that society assigns to them (gender differences). Together gender and sex, often in interaction with socioeconomic circumstances, influence exposure to health risks, access to health information and services, health outcomes and the social and economic consequences of ill-health. Recognizing the root causes of gender inequities in health is crucial therefore when designing health system responses. Health promotion as well as disease prevention needs to address these differences between women and men, boys and girls in an equitable manner in order to be effective .