Women's Lives and Women's Health: Using Social Science Research to Promote Better Health for Women

Abstract

Demographic and socioeconomic trends including lower fertility, more unpartnered adolescent childbearing, greater longevity, increased labor force participation, and more fluid family structures are having profound effects on women's health needs and use of health services. An analysis of the influence of these trends on women's health provides the theoretical basis for the policy recommendation to combine social science and biomedical or epidemiological research methodologies to obtain the necessary information base for designing appropriate health policy and programs for women. The implications of this combined approach are explored for several health programming areas including breastfeeding promotion, screening and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, and reduction of domestic violence against women. The policy discussion emphasizes the potential benefits of integrated services for women. While the specific focus of this review is on women's health in developing countries, many of its conclusions are equally applicable to women's lives and women's health in the United States and in other industrialized countries.