key political roles. While this intervention is admirable, it will by itself do little to affect equity within health systems since it is not a panacea for creating gender-sensitive health systems. The issue is far more complex and the interventions need to address inequity in broader terms.
Further, while the call for universal healthcare is well intentioned, it may have little or no impact on the gender-related disparities inherent in health systems unless we also address empowerment, access to education, gender-based violence, and hetero-centricity; these societal factors are prerequisites for the desired sea change and without them there will be little movement in terms of improving the overall health of society at large.
At the core of health systems is the tenet ‘to put people first’. To do this we must put sex and gender front and center. Although gender medicine is not a new therapeutic area, it is a new dimension for healthcare professionals and healthcare systems. Since healthcare systems are shaped by the society in which they operate, the change which needs to occur must permeate how these systems operate and how people relate as well as how people operate within these systems.
Ultimately, the success of a sex-and gender-based approach to health will be dependent on healthcare professionals who, among other actions, will need to play a leadership role as advocates in order to break the cycle of gender-based neglect. Advocacy and action must occur in a number of domains including policy, research, healthcare professional education, and clinical practice guidelines. Available and additional evidence needs to be generated and then put into practice across all of these domains. Additionally, education of patients must be coupled with broad awareness of all healthcare consumers.
Men, women, and LGBT people are waiting for healthcare systems that minimize inequities in health status, disease distribution, and access to services. They are also waiting for gender-sensitive approaches to their care. Let us not keep these patients waiting.
References
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Paula R. DeCola, RN, MSc
Pfizer Inc.
235 East 42nd Street, MS 219-9-11
New York, NY 10017 (USA)
Tel. +1 212 573 7473, E-Mail [email protected]
Social and Biological Determinants in Health and Disease
Schenck-Gustafsson K, DeCola PR, Pfaff DW, Pisetsky DS (eds): Handbook of Clinical Gender Medicine.
Basel, Karger, 2012, pp 18–36
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A Global War against Baby Girls: Sex-Selective Abortion Becomes a Worldwide Practice
Nicholas N. Eberstadt
American Enterprise Institute, Washington, D.C., USA
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