Gender Inequalities in Health Over the Life Course. Attitudes Towards III-Health in Men and Women Treated for Childhood Cancer

Abstract

Gender inequalities in health may result from differences in health care utilisation. This paper reports, using an interactionist approach, health-related beliefs of men and women treated for cancer in childhood and living with increased health risks ever since. We observed that normative masculine traits are sometimes used to legitimise a reluctance to undergo medical surveillance. Overall, men tended to express a passive attitude towards ill-health, resulting in a gendered health vulnerability.