Gender Gap in Self-Rated Health: A Cohort Perspective in Eastern European Countries.

Ana Isabel Gil-Lacruz,Isabel Aguilar-Palacio,Marta Gil-Lacruz,Jorge Navarro-López

doi:10.3390/healthcare10020365

Ana Isabel Gil-Lacruz, Isabel Aguilar-Palacio + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10020365

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Abstract

Background: The relationship between self-rated health and gender differs across countries and generations. The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of socioeconomic conditions on self-rated health from a generational perspective, its differential effect on gender, and its influence on the gender gap in order to explore health diversity using a multidisciplinary approach and considering policy implications in Eastern European countries. Methods: We used data drawn from the European Health Interview Survey for eight Eastern European countries and EUROSTAT from 2006 through to 2009. We conducted multilevel analyses to understand the individual and national health determinants of self-rated health by gender and to determine whether national differences remain after controlling for micro variables. In order to analyze the role of equity (Gini quartile) in gender differences, Oaxaca analyses were used. Results: The self-rated health gender gap increases with age. Individual characteristics, such as educational level or smoking, influence citizens’ perceived health, and have a stronger effect on women than on men. Knowing both the characteristics (endowment effects) and the effects of individual characteristics (coefficient effects) on health is important in order to understand gender gaps among people from the silent generation. Conclusions: Our research indicates that random effects are greater for men than for women. Moreover, random effects might be explained to a certain extent by economic equity (Gini index). The combined effects of gender, cohort, and geographical differences on self-rated health have to be taken into account to develop public health policies.

Highlights

Self-assessed health is an important indicator of people s health status
The differences found in youth are likely to be maintained in adulthood, including the persistence of sexist attitudes regarding the expression of discomfort, differential treatment of ailments, and work and domestic work [12]. These results support the particular effects of age and generational cohorts on selfrated health and the gender gap as a factor mediating the impact of educational level on self-rated health [32,39]
Despite the important role of unobserved heterogeneity in determining self-perceived health, especially for men and older generations, our results show that in Eastern Europe, a gender gap in self-assessed health persists with relevant differences in health determinants among different generational cohorts, even when controlling for countries with the same welfare system

Summary

Introduction

Self-assessed health is an important indicator of people s health status. It is a comprehensive assessment of an individual’s physical, mental, and social well-being [1]. Self-reported health is a good starting point to study citizens’ health [5,6] Social characteristics, such as socioeconomic status or educational level, influence the self-interpretation of health [7,8,9,10,11]. Results: The self-rated health gender gap increases with age Individual characteristics, such as educational level or smoking, influence citizens’ perceived health, and have a stronger effect on women than on men. Knowing both the characteristics (endowment effects) and the effects of individual characteristics (coefficient effects) on health is important in order to understand gender gaps among people from the silent generation. The combined effects of gender, cohort, and geographical differences on self-rated health have to be taken into account to develop public health policies

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