Family demands, education, and employment status all have impact.

2004 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Creators of social and health programs must take into account that a woman's health status is impacted by many variables, including the demands of her family, her level of education, and whether or not she works outside of the home, according to a study in the journal Social Science & Medicine.

"Although it is generally assumed that women engaged in paid work have better health than full-time homemakers, little is known about the situation in Southern European countries like Spain or about differences in the impact of family demands by employment status or the potential interaction with educational level," said authors L. Artazcoz and colleagues.

They investigated "whether inequalities in health exist among housewives and employed women, and [assessed] whether the relationship between family demands and health differs by employment status. Additionally, for both objectives [the researchers examined] the potential different patterns by educational level."

Artazcoz and team used data from the 1994 Catalonian Health Survey (Spain). "The sample was drawn from all women aged 25-64 years who were employed or full-time homemakers and married or cohabiting," the researchers said.

"Four health indicators (self-perceived health status, limiting long-standing illness, chronic conditions, and mental health) and two health-related behaviors (hours of sleeping and leisure-time physical activity) were analyzed. Family demands were measured through household size, living with children under 15, and living with elderly," the scientists noted.

"Overall, female workers had a better health status than housewives, although this pattern ...