Gender Roles in Health Seeking Behaviors for Older Men Living in the California Central Valley

• In Event: 512 - Section on Sex and Gender Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 05. Health, Stigma, and Access to Care

Abstract

BACKGROUND:
This project portrays how women play essential roles in the health care seeking behavior of older Mexican immigrant men. Mexican elders, along with other Latino elders, are disproportionately poor and plagued with chronic and other disabling conditions (Wallace & Villa, 2003).
OBJECTIVE:
This ethnographic project seeks to deepen study how gender, immigration, and aging impact health behaviors in older men. It aims to 1) explain the conceptualization of health, illness, risk and prevention 2) map the health seeking process for this population.
HYPOTHESIS:
Participants have very informed conceptualizations of illness and disease. They enact their aging, masculine, and immigrant identities to navigate in and out of healthcare, within the constraints of systemic barriers.
METHODS:
Conducted 20 in person interviews of older Mexican immigrant men in four Central Valley counties using a semi-structured interview guide, collected an ethnographic data that includes observations. Analysis of written, audio, and visual data was coded using grounded theory methods.
RESULTS: Most men had positive opinions of the US healthcare system as a whole, but critiqued and resisted parts of the system. Men perceived illness as emotional, particularly associated with sadness. Adult women in their lives such as wives and daughters them helped navigate the system and overcome systemic barriers. Participants avoided the healthcare system if it conflicted with their head-of-household role.
CONCLUSIONS: Older men make informed decisions about whether or not to seek health care within their systemic constraints. Women’s opinion on health matters is respected and they serve as navigators for men.

Author

• Tania L. Pacheco Werner, University of California-San Francisco