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

Abstract

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.