Redefining women's health beyond reproduction and motherhood

Healthcare for Women

HEALTH CARE for WOMEN

Concept #

Women make up more than half of the U.S. population, but it is only recently that their political, economic, and health situations have been closely examined. Historically, women's health had always been perceived in the context of reproduction, i.e. A woman's role in producing and rearing children. (Blackwell, 2002) in fact it is often stated that up to the present, outside of reproduction nearly all research in the medical field was conducted almost exclusively on men and it was assumed that women would vary only minimally if the same diseases, disorders and states of health were experienced. (Moss, 1996) Yet, more recently as has been stated there has been an increase in concern about women's health and research, as well as specific health variants of women. These new understandings and explorations are responsible for a shift in the perception of the medical field to encompass other aspects of a woman's life above and beyond her child-bearing years. In my experience there has even been a fundamental shift in the way that childbearing is viewed and treated, not as much as a disease but as a particular state of wellness that has certain fundamentally different wellness needs than other times of a woman's life. (Lueck & Chang, 2002) This shift of perception is in large part due to the influx of women into the field of medicine as doctors, nurses and most importantly advanced practice nurses. As the field of women's health care continues to be re-examined and re-defined, it is important to consider women from different perspectives that recognize women's multiple roles in society and eliminate the long-standing dichotomy between reproductive and non-reproductive health. (Blackwell, 2002)

One of the significant outcomes of intensified interest in women's health, understood and experienced by this researcher as well as others is the increased emphasis on holistic health care, for women as well as for the community in general. Many if not most find it crucial to approach women's health from a holistic perspective. The multiple influences of biological, psychological, and social factors on women's health should always be addressed, and health care should embrace a wellness approach, rather than being problem-focused. One of the most influential ways in which this occurs is through the health and wellness experiences of women practitioners themselves, "When a provider acknowledges...her own suffering, something profoundly transformative begins. " (Sowada, 2003, p. 194) Universal access is an essential aspect of promoting women's wellness and community wellness and it is my experience that activism for universal access then becomes a primary antecedent to holistic wellness care, as such access is not being reached by the publics in the U.S. Income and insurance status are primary determinants of not only the health of women, but also the amount and quality of health care that they receive. (Blackwell, 2002) Low income and minority women have fewer mammograms than other women, which can be a huge factor in the prevention of breast cancer. Approximately 185,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed among U.S. women every year, and about 45,000 women die from this disease. As an example: there needs to be some form of intervention to increase access to mammography for poor and minority women in order for these numbers to decrease. Additionally, women tend to have a significant role and responsibility in the current obesity epidemic and there needs to be a move toward consensus in developing achievable goals for individual and community intervention to change the growing numbers of obese women and children in the U.S. (Ross, 2004, p. 87) Both of these points are specific to women and women's health and both if developed into realistic and achievable plans will help promote the idea and reality of holistic health care. Women practitioners play important roles in the development of these plans as well as their implementation.

Concept # 3

Women's health is a relatively old field of medicine that, in recent years, has taken on new dimensions. (Robison, 2002) it is important to recognize the diversity among women in their health care needs and access to adequate health resources. Recognition of diversity, in the broader culture, in the various roles of women and identity of women is an essential aspect of providing essential clinical care to women in a women's health setting.

A perspective of women's health that recognizes the multiple roles that women play and their corresponding health needs will be most successful in catering to all women in this society. Recognizing diversity of roles as well as life experience and culture, among women is a fundamental aspect of creating a health care system that emphasizes wellness rather than disease. Activism as an individual female health care provide is also essential to this development. Advocacy of individual and groups of women, on the issues of holistic care, lifespan wellness and diversity as a clinical health care provider is one of the first steps toward cultivating change in the system. This might mean developing access programs for a single at risk individual, or a group of them, a program a that is large or small but either way the development of achievable goals is essential to my role as a woman and a provider of clinical care for women.