Abstract
We sought to understand the subjective reports of women’s health concerns. A randomly dialled telephone survey was conducted resulting in a sample of 458 women (Caucasian/European = 302, Native/ Aboriginal = 81, Black = 75), aged 18–81. Women were asked in an open-ended format to list their three top health concerns for themselves and then for Canadian women. Responses were recorded verbatim and categorized into one of nine mutually exclusive health concern categories. The three main health concerns for Canadian women were: Psychosocial Issues, Other Specific Illnesses, and Cancer. The three most important personal health concerns were Psychosocial Issues, Other Specific Illnesses, and Heart and Related Diseases. Few ethnic differences were noted. Results suggest that it is important to recognize and attempt to alleviate health concerns about stress and depression, which are not usually considered as being major health problems by health care professionals.
Résumé
Nous avons étudié les comptes rendus subjectifs de femmes au sujet de leurs préoccupations de santé en menant un sondage téléphonique au hasard auprès d’un échantillon de 458 femmes (302 blanches/européennes, 81 autochtones, 75 noires) de 18 à 81 ans. Nous leur avons demandé d’énumérer librement les trois questions de santé qui primaient dans leur vie et pour l’ensemble des Canadiennes. Leurs réponses ont été notées mot pour mot et classées en neuf catégories mutuellement exclusives. Les trois principales catégories de questions de santé touchant l’ensemble des Canadiennes étaient les Problèmes psychosociaux, les Autres maladies et le Cancer. Les trois principales catégories touchant directement les femmes interrogées étaient les Problèmes psychosociaux, les Autres maladies et les Maladies du cœur. Nous avons constaté peu de différences d’ordre ethnique. Les résultats soulignent l’importance de reconnaître et d’essayer de soulager les préoccupations à l’égard du stress et de la dépression, que les professionnels de la santé ne considèrent pas d’habitude comme de graves problèmes de santé.
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