Open AccessGender Differences in Access to Health Care among the Elderly: Evidence from Southeast Asia
Author(s) -
Yana van der Meulen Rodgers,
Joseph E. Zveglich
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
asian development review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.487
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1996-7241
pISSN - 0116-1105
DOI - 10.1142/s0116110521500086
Subject(s) - viet nam , poverty , health care , stigma (botany) , demography , gerontology , medicine , psychology , socioeconomics , political science , sociology , psychiatry , ethnology , law
Populations become increasingly feminized with age. Since older women are more vulnerable to poverty, they may find it more difficult than men to access health care. This study examines factors that may constrain older persons in Southeast Asia from meeting their health-care needs when sick. Our analysis of household survey data from Cambodia, the Philippines, and Viet Nam shows that women are more likely to have reported sickness or injury than men, a difference that is meaningful and statistically significant. While women in Cambodia and the Philippines are more likely to seek treatment than men, the gender difference is reversed in Viet Nam where the stigma and discrimination associated with some diseases may more strongly deter women. The probability of seeking treatment rises with age more sharply for women than men in all countries. However, for the subsample of elders, the gender difference is not significant.