For reasons that are not entirely clear transplant than men. Women also wait an average of four months longer for a kidney transplant. However, chronic renal disease is not the only illness for which women find themselves at a isadvantage. The diagnosis and treatment of many life-threatening diseases in American women lag behind those in the male population. Are women really the weaker sex, or are there other factors affecting women’s health?
To answer that question, Debbie Morgan, L.C.S.W., Director of Transplant Services at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, took a careful look at current research documenting the health of American women. Her exploration uncovered a shocking record for women’s health care in general. “It appears that gender bias in health care exists on many levels, from who gets referred and for what kinds of treatments, to access to specialized care,” says Ms. Morgan. “Gender bias crosses a wide array of health issues, including heart disease, cancer, HIV, substance abuse, and mental illness. In particular, African American and older women are most affected by these influences.”
Naturally, there are underlying biological and psychosocial differences in the sexes. Men and women seek health care differently and the approach of male and female physicians can be colored by their gender, explains Ms. Morgan. For example, women are 25 percent more likely to visit their doctor than men and they tend to consult with a physician earlier for a specific complaint. Female physicians tend to spend more time with their patients and are more likely to order preventative and screening tests.
“It is well documented that men are more likely to receive
treatment for heart disease, and women are more
likely to receive treatment for psychosomatic disease
when they complain of the same cardiac symptoms,” reports Ms.
Morgan. The trend is the same for cancer and HIV
treatment. Lung cancer is the leading cause of
cancer deaths in women, yet women are 50 percent
less likely to be referred for tests that detect
lung cancer. Likewise, women with HIV are less
likely to receive the best available treatment.
One of the biggest reasons women across the United States are not
getting the same care as men is that women have
less access to health care overall. They are more
likely to be under- or uninsured. Women more commonly
work part-time or in jobs that don’t provide insurance. Adding
to the problem is the fact that insurance companies
are now limiting access to specialized care, including
transplantation. Many health insurance companies
do not cover the costs of transplant surgery or
the medications necessary after organ transplantation.
“The fact is that fewer women seek the transplant alternative,” says
Ms. Morgan. “They are concerned about who will care for the
family during their recovery. Many fear surgery;
others reject transplantation due to concerns about
side effects of the medications. Others are anxious
about disrupting their lives and the dialysis routine
they’ve learned to live with, not realizing they can have a
better quality of life.”
Women receive fewer living donated kidneys than men, although as
a group, they are 28 percent more likely to make
a living kidney donation. Women often wait longer
for an organ because they produce additional antibodies
during pregnancy that make it harder to find a
compatible match under the current guidelines used
by the national organ procurement agency. “What we do not know,
is if women are being referred by their physicians
less often than men to dialysis and transplantation,” emphasizes
Ms. Morgan.
At the Saint Barnabas Renal and Pancreas Transplant Centers, the data reveals that of the more than 2,100 kidney transplants performed since 1973, 39 percent of the recipients were female and 61 percent were male. The transplant team has dedicated itself to finding the reasons for this disparity and bringing more gender balance to kidney transplantation.
In the meantime, Ms. Morgan strongly suggests that women educate themselves about their health condition and talk candidly with their physicians. If a woman doesn’t feel she is getting the proper care from her physician, she can and should seek a second opinion.
[ top ] [ newsletter index ] |
