Women are more proactive with their health than men

A study led by the Jordi Gol Primary Care Research Institute (IdiapJgol) and the Lleida Biomedical Research Institute (IRBLleida) has concluded that Women adopt a “more proactive” and autonomous attitude in addressing their health problems than men.

The work, published in the magazine Archives of Public Healthshows that they are more involved in “the knowledge, monitoring and prevention of their health problems”, while they tend to rely more on external support as a family, couple or professionals, reports IdiapJgol in a statement this Tuesday.

The research has analyzed gender differences in health self-management among people with multimorbiditythat is, with two or more chronic diseases.

It is based on a qualitative methodology, with semi-structured in-depth interviews being carried out 43 patients with multimorbidity from 3 primary care centers in Lleida, selected through intentional sampling to guarantee their diversity.

Health literacy

One of the aspects that presents the greatest disparity between genders is knowledge about health: in this sense, the results indicate that women “try harder” to acquire knowledge about the treatments they undergo.

The IdiapJgol and IRBLleida researcher and first signatory of the study, Laia Llubes, has highlighted that women “not only assume responsibility for monitoring and controlling their medication, but also seek to better understand treatments to manage them effectively.

In contrast, men tend to show lower levels of health literacy and often delegate medication management to their partners or caregivers.

Greater search for alternatives

The study shows that the Men tend to follow medical instructions without questioning themwhile women show “greater initiative in the search for alternatives and management strategies.”

The research team has stressed that gender-sensitive interventions are needed which, in the case of women, should focus on provide support in decision-making and avoid overload when they also act as caregivers and, in the case of men, they should be aimed at “promoting autonomy, the early search for help and participation in community support networks.”