HUMAN
HUManist Association of Nepal
Study of Health Status of Women in Nepal
Recognizing the fact that the health profile
of women has always remained different in different socio-economic strata
and below that of men, Humanist Association of Nepal (HUMAN) conducted a
study on Health Status of Women in Nepal with the objective of identifying
the level of the health status of women and causative factors in different
socio-economic strata. What follows is the brief summary of the findings:
Heath status has been conceptualized with its widest sense as the condition of overall human well being on the ground of the widely accepted definition of health given by the World Health Organization in the preamble of its constitution. Where it is defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity. It is commonly agreed that the health status of a population is a reflection of the overall socio-economic development of the country. On the other hand, its geo-physical settings, socio-cultural values, and magnitude of population, educational status, and employment and income level of the people at large influence the overall socio-economic development of country and eventually the health status of the population. Therefore, health status is the result of the combined impacts of many variables and is multidimensional in character.
The study on women's health status revealed that the general health status of women is much lower than their male counterpart and is more acute in the rural than urban areas. The general economic status and the income level seem to have a significant impact on the health status of the women besides the literacy and education level. The women's conditions and the health status in the mountain and the hill is more severe than in the plain areas of the similar income level households which can be attributed to the better health infrastructure and the more readily available health care services in the plain.
Women, who comprise more than half of the total population in Nepal, are not only deprived in economic, social, cultural, religious and political domains but also in terms of their health care services. Realizing this fact, government has paid considerable attention toward equal participation of women in the development efforts of the country and to improve the quality of human life specifically of women. All the developmental efforts are meant to enhance the quality of life of population by improving the health status of them. Yet Nepal is still lacking in development programs and health status of its people specifically of women. Consequently, Nepal has been ranked into the category of the low human development country in the world (UNDP, 1998:30).
Heath status has been conceptualized with its widest sense as the condition of overall human well being on the ground of the widely accepted definition of health given by the World Health Organization in the preamble of its constitution. Where it is defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity. It is commonly agreed that the health status of a population is a reflection of the overall socio-economic development of the country. On the other hand, its geo-physical settings, socio-cultural values, and magnitude of population, educational status, and employment and income level of the people at large influence the overall socio-economic development of country and eventually the health status of the population. Therefore, health status is the result of the combined impacts of many variables and is multidimensional in character.
The study on women's health status revealed that the general health status of women is much lower than their male counterpart and is more acute in the rural than urban areas. The general economic status and the income level seem to have a significant impact on the health status of the women besides the literacy and education level. The women's conditions and the health status in the mountain and the hill is more severe than in the plain areas of the similar income level households which can be attributed to the better health infrastructure and the more readily available health care services in the plain.
Women, who comprise more than half of the total population in Nepal, are not only deprived in economic, social, cultural, religious and political domains but also in terms of their health care services. Realizing this fact, government has paid considerable attention toward equal participation of women in the development efforts of the country and to improve the quality of human life specifically of women. All the developmental efforts are meant to enhance the quality of life of population by improving the health status of them. Yet Nepal is still lacking in development programs and health status of its people specifically of women. Consequently, Nepal has been ranked into the category of the low human development country in the world (UNDP, 1998:30).