Health inequalities and gaps are avoidable, unfair and systematic differences in health between different groups of people, which is what we talked about with Rebel Bodies author Sarah Graham. The health gap between different genders can be attributed to a complex interplay of biological, social, and cultural factors. Here are some key reasons what the health gap has been attributed to:

1. Biological differences
2. Health behaviours
3. Societal expectations
4. Access to healthcare
5. Stigma and discrimination
6. Research gaps
7. Socioeconomic factors
8. Cultural and ethnic variations

Efforts to reduce the gender health gap include promoting gender-sensitive healthcare, increasing awareness about gender-related health issues, and conducting research that considers gender differences. Addressing the health gap requires a holistic approach that takes into account the complex interplay of biological, social, and cultural factors. It also involves challenging and changing societal norms and expectations that may contribute to gender-based health disparities.

Why is there a health gap?

Thanks to the following author for participating:

Sarah Graham is an award-winning freelance health journalist and founder of the Hysterical Women blog, specialising in health, gender and feminism. She has written extensively on these subjects for the i newspaper, Refinery29, the Telegraph, Grazia, Guardian, the BMJ and many others. She was a finalist in the 2021 Medical Journalists’ Association Awards. We talked about her book Rebel Bodies: A guide to the gender health gap revolution.

Other wonderful guests who took part:

Amanda Finley from Kansas City, Missouri.

Lisa Rowe, who is a licenced clinical social worker, the CEO of Support After Abortion and a private practice clinician.

Here are some of the resources from the show:

The book that’s been on everyone’s “Best of” lists, including Amazon’s Best Book of 2010, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, is intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, it captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, Southern Comfort contains a love story, a family tale, a heartbreaking tragedy and a passionate call to end hatred and prejudice. When transgender tough guy Robert Eads develops ovarian cancer, no doctor in the state will treat him.

With no hope for a cure, Robert lives out his final year caring for his self-made family and embarking on a bittersweet romance with the beautiful trans woman Lola. Eads’ boundless courage in the face of injustice is sure to inspire and infuriate you in equal measure.

Books looked at this week:

Sarah Graham: Rebel Bodies: A Guide to the Gender Health Gap Revolution

Rebecca Skloot: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

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