Gender-Gesundheitsbericht Schweiz 2006 - Gender Campus

The report presents the epidemiological findings from a gender perspective, interprets
the findings in the light of the discussion on the significance of sex and gender and formulates
recommendations for action.
With regard to equal health opportunities, a distinction must not only be made between
genders, but also between the factors of age, socioeconomic situation and origin. It has
been shown that gender differences may be more pronounced depending on age group
or social class. For example, men’s subjective assessment of their state of health improves
with increasing household income, whereas this does not apply to women. The
difference between the genders is most pronounced in the highest income class. According
to these findings, factors other than socioeconomic aspects appear to play a role
in the subjective assessment of the state of health of women in higher social classes.
Reproductive health currently tends to be discussed against the backdrop of the continual
reduction in the annual birth rate. In order to counter this trend, extra-familial care
provisions need to be extended. This is necessary so as to be able to reconcile family
and work for women and men. Due to an excess of diagnostic measures (e.g. in prenatal
diagnosis) and intervention (caesarean sections are at a high level on the European scale,
at almost 30%), care provisions for pregnancy and birth may lead to medicalisation and
should therefore be developed more in line with the needs of women and their partners.
Young people’s health, i.e. the health of children and juveniles, is comparatively good.
Nevertheless, the main causes of death indicate the areas in which major prevention
potential lies: accidents are the most common cause of child and juvenile death among
males accounting for 30% to 40%. There are also gender differences in some areas of
addictive drug consumption. In the case of smoking, we can establish that the differences
with regard to prevalence rates are diminishing. However, this assimilation of the
genders is only occurring at a superficial level while qualitative differences in consumption
such as the quantity consumed and the tobacco products used remain. Boys’ alcohol
consumption is significantly higher than among girls, although this difference is becoming
less pronounced. Gender-differentiated behaviour among children and juveniles must
also be better reflected and acted upon in future preventative approaches for these target
groups.
Due to increased life expectancy, greater attention is being given to healthy aging.
Women and men also differ in terms of their health situation in old age, which in turn
necessitates the development of gender-sensitive care and prevention offerings. The risk
of suffering from dementia, for example, increases with age, whereby women between
the age of 75 and 90 are over-proportionately affected in comparison to men. In contrast,
the high suicide rate among men in old age, especially among the over-85s, is particularly
striking.
From the public health perspective, the improvement of mental health in the population
is seen as one of the greatest challenges. A gender lens shows that women and men
are affected by mental health issues to a different extent. However, the common assumption
that women more frequently suffer from mental illness can only be confirmed
with reservations, as specific disease profiles can be identified according to gender.
Summary Gender Health Report Switzerland | 21