Health care professionals and women speaking: constraints in everyday life and the management of chronic illness

Abstract

In this paper, we draw upon research with women in middle and later life who have a chronic illness to explore the issues in their everyday lives that organize the management of their illness. Our analysis aims to show the complex interweaving of relations that constrain the women's management of illness, even when they use creative and innovative approaches to managing their illness. The constraints women experience cannot be adequately explained solely by their interactions with health professionals, by their culture or through a single focus on gender relations. We discuss the implications of our interpretation for the practice of health professionals.