Social vulnerability of women heads of households compared to married women in health care

Abstract

Women heads of households, as one of the most vulnerable sections of society, need to be informed about various issues specially in the field of health. Many gynecological diseases can be diagnosed with early care and can be treated more. These diseases include gynecological cancers that require personal referral and follow-up. Therefore, they depend on various socio-economic factors. The aim of the present study is to investigate the social vulnerability of female heads of households in comparison to married women in providing health care. The present study is a comparative study and was conducted on 200 women including heads of households who have active files in 2 social work clinics in Qom and also married women in 2 districts of Qom city. A questionnaire was used to collect data and SPSS software was used to compare the two groups.41% and 21% of female-headed households and57% and 36% of married women have Mammograms and Pap-smear once a year. The average score in Mammography among married women is 102.15and in female-headed households is 84.18The mean score on Pap-smear test was 98.11 in married women and 79.56 in female-headed households. This difference the mean at the confidence level of 0.95and the standard error percentage (p≤ 0.05) is significant. The results show married women are more likely to have Pap-smears and Mammograms than female-headed households. Due to the special living conditions of women heads of households, there is a need for more practical education, awareness and support for this group.

Keywords

• vulnerability of women
• women heads of households
• women's health
• women's cancer
• pap smear-mammography