Through the Grey Prism
An Intersectional Analysis of Gender, Age, and Healthcare Inequities in Rural Multan, Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15869147Abstract
Abstract Views: 347
This study investigates gender-based health disparities among older individuals in rural Multan, Pakistan. The study's goals are to examine the impact of gender on health status, identify disparities in healthcare service accessibility across socioeconomic groups, and investigate the effects of ageing and dietary intake on health perceptions. Additionally, it identifies gender-specific barriers to healthcare utilisation and investigates the Impact of the social support system and external variables on health outcomes. Methodologically, a quantitative cross-sectional design was employed, utilising a structured interview schedule with 385 respondents aged 60–80 years. Data collection involved rigorous validity and reliability testing of a 66-item questionnaire administered in English and Urdu. Statistical analyses facilitated exploration of health disparities and predictors among elderly males and females. Significant health inequalities are influenced by demographic factors, including ageing, gender, education levels, occupation status, and socio-economic strata. The study underscores the impact of traditional mechanical and emotional gendered roles, limited healthcare access, and socio-economic constraints on health outcomes in the rural areas of Multan city.
Keywords:
Gendered health, Health and aging, Health inequalities, Healthcare utilizationReferences
Alam, M. (2009). Ageing, socio-economic disparities and health outcomes: Some evidence from rural India. Indian Journal of Human Development, 3(1), 47-76. https://doi.org/10.1177/0973703020090103
Ali, T. S., Krantz, G., Gul, R., Asad, N., Johansson, E., & Mogren, I. (2011). Gender roles and their influence on life prospects for women in urban Karachi, Pak0istan: a qualitative study. Global Health Action, 4(1), 7448. https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v4i0.7448
Bandura, A. (2004). Health promotion by social cognitive means. Health Education & Behavior, 31(2), 143-164. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198104263660
Brinda, E. M., Attermann, J., Gerdtham, U. G., & Enemark, U. (2016). Socio-economic inequalities in health and health service use among older adults in India: results from the WHO Study on Global AGEing and adult health survey. Public Health, 141, 32-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2016.08.005
Brown, A. G., Shi, S., Adas, S., Boyington, J. E., Cotton, P. A., Jirles, B., ... & Agurs-Collins, T. (2022). A decade of nutrition and health disparities research at NIH, 2010–2019. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 63(2), e49-e57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2022.02.012
Dehlendorf, C., Bryant, A. S., Huddleston, H. G., Jacoby, V. L., & Fujimoto, V. Y. (2010). Health disparities: Definitions and measurements. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 202(3), 212-213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2009.12.003
Dressler, W. W., Balieiro, M. C., Ribeiro, R. P., & Dos Santos, J. E. (2014). Culture as a mediator of health disparities: Cultural consonance, social class, and health. Annals of Anthropological Practice, 38(2), 214-231. https://doi.org/10.1111/napa.12053
Emmons, K. M. (2000). Health behaviors in a social context. Social Epidemiology, 137, 242-265.
Fleming, P. J., & Agnew-Brune, C. (2015). Current trends in the study of gender norms and health behaviors. Current Opinion in Psychology, 5, 72-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.05.001
Gallo, L. C., de Los Monteros, K. E., & Shivpuri, S. (2009). Socioeconomic status and health: what is the role of reserve capacity?. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(5), 269-274. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01650.x
Garcia-Gomez, P., Hernández-Pizarro, H. M., López i Casasnovas, G., & Vidiella-Martin, J. (2019). Unravelling hidden inequities in a universal public long-term care system (No. TI 2019-011/V). Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper.
Griffith, D. M., Johnson, J., Ellis, K. R., & Schulz, A. J. (2010). Cultural context and a critical approach to eliminating health disparities. Ethnicity & Disease, 20(1), 71-76. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48668256
Holt-Lunstad, J. (2018). Why social relationships are important for physical health: A systems approach to understanding and modifying risk and protection. Annual review of psychology, 69(1), 437-458. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-122216-011902
Kagansky, N., Berner, Y., Koren-Morag, N., Perelman, L., Knobler, H., & Levy, S. (2005). Poor nutritional habits are predictors of poor outcome in very old hospitalized patients. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 82(4), 784-791. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/82.4.784
Kilbourne, A. M., Switzer, G., Hyman, K., Crowley-Matoka, M., & Fine, M. J. (2006). Advancing health disparities research within the health care system: a conceptual framework. American Journal of Public Health, 96(12), 2113-2121. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2005.077628
Kondo, N., Sembajwe, G., Kawachi, I., Van Dam, R. M., Subramanian, S. V., & Yamagata, Z. (2009). Income inequality, mortality, and self rated health: meta-analysis of multilevel studies. BMJ, 339. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b4471
Kwabi-Addo, B., & Kwabi-Addo, B. (2017). The impact of culture on health disparities. Health Outcomes in a Foreign Land: A Role for Epigenomic and Environmental Interaction, 185-195. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55865-3_8
Mumtaz, Z., Salway, S., Shanner, L., Zaman, S., & Laing, L. (2012). Addressing disparities in maternal health care in Pakistan: gender, class and exclusion. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 12, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2393-12-80
Nelson, A. R. (2003). Unequal treatment: report of the Institute of Medicine on racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 76(4), S1377-S1381. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(03)01205-0
Roy, M., Bhatta, T., & Burnette, J. D. (2020). Intersectional effects of gender, education, and geographic region on functional health disparities among older adults in India. Journal of Aging and Health, 32(9), 1188-1197. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898264319899246
Seefeldt, K. S. (2010). Low-income women's experiences with food programs, food spending, and food-related hardships: evidence from qualitative data. DIANE Publishing.
Siddiqui, S., Farah, N., & Malik, N. (2021). Cultural Values about Gender Inequalities and their Implications for Women’s Health in Rural Punjab, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Social Research, 3(3), 44-53.
Singer, M. K. (2012). Applying the concept of culture to reduce health disparities through health behavior research. Preventive Medicine, 55(5), 356-361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2012.02.011
Sulaman, Z., Khan, A., & Munir, S. (2020). Sociological study of socio-economic and psychological problems of old age people in Basti Ram kali Multan, Pakistan. Statistics, Computing and Interdisciplinary Research, 2(1), 41-49. https://doi.org/10.52700/scir.v2i1.9
Sultan, S., Abbas, G., Farooq, S., Nawaz, S., Qureshi, R. N., & Gul, S. (2023). Health disparities by gender and socioeconomic status in Pakistan's major cities. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 7(6), 387-394.
Thomas, S. B., Fine, M. J., & Ibrahim, S. A. (2004). Health disparities: the importance of culture and health communication. American Journal of Public Health, 94(12), 2050-2050. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.94.12.2050
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 International Journal of Trends and Innovations in Business & Social Sciences

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

