Gender differences in medical activities and self-evaluation of health status among people displaced from Abkhazia
Zukhbaia, T.G.; Kvirtiia, T.C.; Gerzmava, O.K.
Georgian Medical News 188: 56-60
2010
ISSN/ISBN: 1512-0112 PMID: 21178205 Document Number: 643058
A growing scientific literature highlights concern about the influence of social bias in medical care. Differential treatment of male and female patients has been among the documented concerns. Yet, little is known about the extent to which differential treatment of male and female patients reflects the influence of social bias or of more acceptable factors, such as different patient preferences or different anticipated outcomes of care. This paper attempts to ascertain the underlying basis for an observed differential in physicians' tendency to advice activity restrictions for male and female patients. We explore the extent to which the gender-based treatment differential is attributable to: (1) patients' health profile, (2) patients' role responsibilities, (3) patients' illness behaviors, and (4) physician characteristics. These four categories of variables correspond to four prominent social science hypotheses concerning gender differences in health and health care utilization. Data are drawn from the longitudinal observational study more of the 2000 IDP patients from Abkhazia. Gender differences in illness behavior and medical activities of the patients both appear to contribute to the observed differential. Female patients exhibit more illness behavior than males, and these behaviors increase physicians' tendency to prescribe activity restrictions.