Quick Answers...
Do older females exhibit better health care practices than older males?
Yes. In general women throughout adulthood are more likely
to attend to minor symptoms than are men. Men are more
likely to have been socialized even as children to be
stoical, and consequently are less likely to see a doctor
for non-serious health problems. When they do get sick, they
are likely to have more and longer hospital visits. Women,
on the other hand, are more likely to have had regular
contact with the health care system through childbirth,
attending to their children's health, and having regular
screening procedures for cervical and breast cancer.
Although women report more chronic conditions than men in
later life, the severity of their problems tends to be less
than that of same age men, probably due to their earlier
health care practices - hence the phrase "women get sicker,
but men die quicker."
Linda Breytspraak, Center on Aging Studies, University of Missouri-Kansas City
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Last update: Monday, July 07, 2008