Gender Inequality

Gender inequality in health among elderly people in a combined framework of socioeconomic position, family characteristics and social support.

This study analyses gender inequalities in health among elderly people in
Catalonia (Spain) by adopting a conceptual framework that globally considers
three dimensions of health determinants : socio-economic position, family characteristics
and social support. Data came from the 2006 Catalonian Health Survey. For
the purposes of this study a sub-sample of people aged 65–85 years with no paid
job was selected (1,113 men and 1,484 women). The health outcomes analysed
were self-perceived health status, poor mental health status and long-standing
limiting illness. Multiple logistic regression models separated by sex were fitted
and a hierarchical model was fitted in three steps. Health status among elderly
women was poorer than among the men for the three outcomes analysed.
Whereas living with disabled people was positively related to the three health
outcomes and confidant social support was negatively associated with all of them
in both sexes, there were gender differences in other social determinants of
health. Our results emphasise the importance of using an integrated approach for
the analysis of health inequalities among elderly people, simultaneously considering
socio-economic position, family characteristics and social support, as well
as different health indicators, in order fully to understand the social determinants
of the health status of older men and women.
KEY WORDS – gender, inequalities, elderly, socio-economic factors, family
characteristics, social support.
Introduction
Demographic changes taking place during the last few decades, such as
increasing life expectancies and lower fertility rates, have generated
population ageing in all parts of the world, but especially in developed
* Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.
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