Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T04:15:02.706Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

GENDER DIFFERENCE IN HEALTH AND ITS DETERMINANTS IN THE OLD-AGED POPULATION IN INDIA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2009

BIPLAB DHAK
BIPLAB DHAK
Affiliation:
Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, India
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

This paper examines the gender differential in health and its socioeconomic and demographic determinants in the old-age population of India based on the National Sample Survey 60th round data collected in 2004. As in developed countries, older women in India report poorer self-reported health and experience greater immobility compared with men. Stepwise logistic regression analysis shows that the gender differential in health is linked to various socioeconomic and demographic variables and that the gender gap could be narrowed with appropriate policy intervention. Specifically, paying special attention towards improving the socioeconomic status of widowed/separated women could attenuate a substantial portion of the observed gender gap in the health of the old-age population.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 41 , Issue 5 , September 2009 , pp. 625 - 643
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Addai, I. (1998) Demographic and socio cultural factors influencing use of maternal health service in Ghana. African Journal of Reproductive Health 2(1), 73–80.Google Scholar
Adler, N., Boyce, T., Chesney, M., Cohen, S., Folkman, S., Kahn, R. L. & Syme, S. L. (1994) Socio-economic status and health: the challenge of the gradient. American Psychologist 49, 15–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arber, S. (1997) Comparing inequalities in women's and men's health: Britain in the 1990s. Social Science and Medicine 44, 773–788.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arber, S. & Cooper, H. (1999) Gender differences in health in later life: the new paradox? Social Science and Medicine 48, 61–76.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arens, D. A. (1982) Widowhood and well-being: an examination of differences within a causal model. International Journal of Aging and Human Development 15(1), 301–315.Google ScholarPubMed
Arnold, F., Chloe, M. C. & Roy, T. K. (1998) Son preference, the family building process and child mortality in India. Population Studies 52, 301–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Basu, A. M. (1992) Culture, the Status of Women and Demographic Behaviour. Clarendon Press,Oxford.Google Scholar
Bhatia, J. & John, C. (1995) Determinants of maternal care in a region of South India. Health Transition Review 5, 127–142.Google Scholar
Bloom, S., Lippeveld, T. & Wyij, D. (1999) Does antenatal care make a difference to safe delivery? A study in urban Uttar Pradesh. Health Policy and Planning 14(1), 38–48.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bloom, S., Wyij, D. & Dasgupta, M. (2001) Dimensions of women's autonomy and the influence on maternal health care utilization in North Indian city. Demography 38(1), 67–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Das Gupta, M. (1995) Life course perspectives on women's autonomy and health outcomes. American Anthropologist 97(3), 481–491.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Das Gupta, M., Krishnan, T. N. & Chen, L. C. (eds) (1995) Health, Poverty and Development in India. Oxford University Press, Bombay.Google Scholar
De Bruin, A., Picavet, H. S. J. & Nassikov, A. (1996) Health Interview Survey Towards International Harmonization of Methods and Instruments. Regional Publications European Series, WHO.Google ScholarPubMed
Dumont, L. (1970) Homo Hierarchies: The Caste System and its Implication. Weidendeld & Nicholson, London.Google Scholar
Dyson, T. & Moore, M. (1983) On kinship structure, female autonomy, and demographic behavior in India. Population and Development Review 9(1), 35–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elo, I. T. & Preston, S. H. (1996) Educational differential in mortality: United States, 1979–85. Social Science and Medicine 42, 47–57.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feldman, J. J.,Diane, M. M.,Joel, C. K. & Joan, C. H. (1989) National trend in educational differentials in mortality. American Journal of Epidemiology 129, 919–933.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hu, Y. R. & Goldman, N. (1990) Mortality differentials by marital status – an international comparison. Demography 27(2), 233–250.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
IIPS (2007) National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), 2005–06. IIPS, Mumbai.Google Scholar
Jejeebhoy, S. J. & Sathar, Z. A. (2001) Women's autonomy in India and Pakistan: the influence of religion and region. Population and Development Review 27(4), 687–712.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kavitha, N. & Audinarayana, N. (1997) Utilization and determinants of selected MCH care services in rural areas of Tamil Nadu. Health and Population – Perspective and Issues 20(3), 112–125.Google Scholar
Kishor, S. (1993) May God give sons to all: gender and child mortality in India. American Sociological Review 58, 247–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kunst, A. E., Geurts, J. J. M. & Van den Berg, J. (1995) International variation in socioeconomic inequalities in self reported health. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 49, 117–123.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kunst, A. E. & Mackenbach, J. P. (1994) International variation in the size of mortality differences associated with occupational status. International Journal of Epidemiology 23, 742–750.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lahelma, E. & Valkonen, T. (1990) Health and social inequalities in Finland and elsewhere. Social Science and Medicine 31, 257–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lillard, L. A. & Waite, L. J. (1995) Till death do us part: marital disruption and mortality. American Journal of Sociology 100(5), 1131–1156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Macintyre, S., Ford, G. & Hunt, K. (1999) Do women ‘over-report’ morbidity? Men's and women's responses to structured prompting on a standard question on long standing illness. Social Science and Medicine 48, 89–98.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Macintyre, S. & Hunt, K. (1997) Socio-economic position, gender and health: how do they interact? Journal of Health Psychology 2, 315–334.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mason, K. (1992) Family change and support of the elderly in Asia: what do we know? Asia-Pacific Population Journal 7, 13–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miles, D. R. & Brewster, L. K. (1998) The impact of type of employment on women's use of prenatal-care services and family planning in urban Cebu, the Philippines. Studies in Family Planning 29(1), 69–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murti, M., Dreze, J. & Guio, A. (1995) Mortality, fertility and gender bias in India: A district level analysis. Population and Development Review 21(4), 745–782.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nathanson, C. (1975) Illness and the feminine role: a theoretical review. Social Science and Medicine 9, 57–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nathanson, C. (1977) Sex, illness and medical care: a review of data, theory and method. Social Science and Medicine 11, 13–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
NSSO (2006) Morbidity, Health Care and the Condition of the Aged. Report 507, NSS 60th Round, January–June 2004. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, New Delhi.Google Scholar
Rahman, L. & Rao, V. (2004) The determinants of gender equity in India: examining Dyson and Moore's thesis with new data. Population and Development Review 30(2), 239–268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Registrar General of India (2001) Census of India, 2001. Provisional population totals – India, Paper 1 of 2001, New Delhi.Google Scholar
Registrar General of India (2007) Sample Registration System Statistical Report 2006. New Delhi.Google Scholar
Sengupta, M. & Agree, E. M. (2002) Gender and disability among older adults in north and south India: differences associated with coresidence and marriage. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology 17, 313–336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sheth, D. L. (1998) Reservation policy revisited. In Mahajan, G. (ed.) Democracy, Difference and Social Justice. Oxford University Press, New Delhi.Google Scholar
Smith, D. G., Blane, D. & Bartley, M. (1994) Explanations for socioeconomic differentials in mortality. European Journal of Public Health 4, 131–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sudha, S. & Rajan, I. S. (2003) Persistent daughter disadvantage: do estimated sex ratio at birth and sex ratios of child mortality risk reveal? Economic and Political Weekly 38(41), 4351–4360.Google Scholar
Turra, M. C., Goldman, N., Seplaki, L. C., Glei, A. D, Lin, H. Y. & Weinstein, M. (2005) Determinants of mortality at older ages: the role of biological markers of chronic disease. Population and Development Review 31(4), 675–698.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
UNFPA (2002) Population Ageing and Development: Social, Health and Gender Issues. UNFPA, New York.Google Scholar
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2004) Available from http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/WPP2004/World_Population_2004_chart.pdfGoogle Scholar
Verbrugge, L. (1989) Twain meet: empirical explanations of sex differences in health and mortality. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour 30, 282–304.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Waldron, I. (1976) Why do women live longer than men? Journal of Human Stress 2, 2–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed