The range of health issues for women today is extensive.
The complexities of managing multiple roles and responsibilities have implications for health. Consider the hats a woman wears: maintaining a household (still predominantly a woman's task), working or volunteering outside the home, raising children and maybe looking after aging parents.
Increasingly, women are challenged to balance all this while simultaneously striving for a sense of personal well being. This can be an ambitious undertaking.
Much of the work that a woman does, including critical functions such as child and elder care, home-based tasks and community volunteer work, is not directly acknowledged in our economy, as money does not change hands. In other words, they do not make a contribution to GDP (Gross Domestic Product) - a calculation that measures what a nation produces.
An alternative measure has been suggested, the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI). This measure of well being includes, among other things, the value of housework. Measuring women's other contributions is probably best left to another article, but suffice to say that women contribute to the state of our society in many uncounted and unacknowledged ways.
All of these activities and sometimes-conflicting roles have an effect on women's health. To find out what that might be, a Women's Health Study was done in Sea to Sky in 2003 under the auspices of Vancouver Coastal Health. The survey identified some key issues:
Lifestyle-related concerns such as stress and the need for healthy lifestyle choices;
Diseases such as cancer, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, osteoporosis and STDs;
Access to services including family physicians and female physicians, hospitals and health facilities, support groups, diagnostic equipment and need for more local services;
Mental health issues such as stress, depression, eating disorders and access to mental health resources;
Sexual and reproductive issues including menopause, sexually transmitted diseases and birth control;
Financial issues including poverty, education, affordable housing and health services; and
Abuse issues including substance abuse, abused women and families.
Building on the findings of this survey, the Sea to Sky Women's Health Network is hosting a Women's Night Out called ' I Choose to be..'. This free event is for women of all ages and takes place on the evening of Friday, April 8 at Totem Hall in Squamish. The same event takes place in Pemberton on the evening of April 9 at Signal Hill School. The events feature exhibits, door prizes and social time and presentations by Donna Savage, a motivational speaker and Lucinda Flavelle, a certified laugh leader. Drumming will open the events, provided by Squamish Nation in Squamish and Mt. Currie band in Pemberton.
Registration is appreciated To do so, please contact Sue or Lori at the health unit in Squamish at 604-892-2293 or Caprii at the health unit in Pemberton at 604-894-6939.
Dr. Paul Martiquet is the Medical Health Officer for the Sea to Sky corridor.
