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A Feminist Approach to Health Promotion for Older Women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Catherine Ward-Griffin  and
Jenny Ploeg
Catherine Ward-Griffin
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Jenny Ploeg
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
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Abstract

Until recently, the health promotion movement has focussed primarily on individual responsibility for health behaviours rather than on broad social determinants of health. The movement has been targeted primarily at young rather than older persons, at men rather than women. There is an emerging call for a feminist approach to health promotion for aging women, an approach which would address the current gender, class, race, and age biases in health promotion practice, research, and policy. Feminist theories suggest that sexism limits women's health opportunities and subjects them to an array of situations including marginalization, powerlessness, and exploitation. The purpose of this paper is two-fold: to use a feminist analysis to critique health promotion, identifying gender, class, race, and age biases that influence older women's health, and to recommend changes in health promotion theory, research, practice, and education. Health promotion researchers, practitioners, and educators are challenged to work with older women to increase their visibility and empowerment, and to bring about a transformation of the society in which women age.

Résumé

Jusqu'à tout récemment, le mouvement de promotion de la santé faisait principalement porter ses efforts sur la responsabilité individuelle en matière de comportements reliés à la santé, plutôt que sur les grands determinants sociaux de la santé. Le mouvement ciblait les jeunes plutôt que les ainés, les hommes plutôt que les femmes. Des voix commencent à se faire entendre et prônent une approche féministe de la promotion de la santé auprès des femmes plus âgées, une approche qui prendrait en compte les facteurs de sexe, de classe sociale, de race et d'âge qui viennent biaiser les recherches, les pratiques et les politiques en matière de promotion de la santé. La théorie féministe pose comme hypothèse que le sexisme limite les possibilités des femmes en matière de santé et les assujettit à une série de situations telles que la marginalisation, l'absence de pouvoir et l'exploitation. L'objectif de la présente étude est double: faire appel à une grille féministe pour critiquer la promotion de la santé et déterminer les facteurs de sexe, de classe sociale, de race et d'âge qui affectent la santé des femmes plus âgées, et recommander des modifications à la théorie, à la recherche, aux pratiques et à l'éducation en matière de santé. Les chercheurs, les praticiens et les éducateurs du domaine de la santé sont invités à travailler avec les femmes aînées de façon à augmenter leur visibilité et leur prise en charge personnelle et à favoriser une transformation de la société au sein de laquelle les femmes vieillissent.

Keywords

Health PromotionEmpowermentAgingFeminismOlder WomenPromotion de la santéprise en charge personnelleféminismefemmes plus âgées
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , Été/Summer 1997 , pp. 279 - 296
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1997

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