Applications and development possibilities – moving beyond the WKC project to incorporate cultural diversity

Abstract

Overview While health status, life expectancy and morbidity of populations can be largely explained by gender, region of the world and religion, this parsimonious set of variables does not adequately refl ect the cultural diversity of many countries today where immigrant or ethnic status interact with social, structural and economic characteristics as determinants of health. The set of indicators for gender equity and health represent a concerted effort of leading experts in women’s health, yet further work is necessary to refl ect diversity since some indicators are strongly slanted toward Western notions of health and functioning. This commentary proposes additional regional indicators such as the rate of consanguineous and polygamous marriage, and the inclusion of a variety of upstream indicators of health. Furthermore, possibilities for how to link between Tiers and cycle the indicators over time are presented in order to increase applicability on the national and regional level.