More than three out of four women (81%) would neglect their health, in particular by delaying visits to the doctor as much as possible.
- More than three-quarters of women (77%) would delay seeing a doctor and one in two would have irregular gynecological follow-ups.
- More than one in two women (57%) believe that they manage children’s health, compared to only 3% of men.
Women have an unfortunate tendency to postpone their medical appointments too much, which end up being a last resort. A new survey, conducted by the Elabe company for the Axa Prévention association and revealed by The Parisianshows that 81% of women neglect their health, much more than men.
Only one in two women has a regular gynecological follow-up
Medical consultations are not an exercise that women carry out diligently. More than three-quarters (77%) would postpone the moment of consultation. A figure which is also confirmed in the context of follow-up with the gynecologist, since only one in two women announces that they have “regular gynecological follow-up”. A figure that swells when they exceed forty, mainly after the birth of children. Margot Bayart, a general practitioner interviewed by The Parisianclaims to regularly see women of that age who claim that their last smear goes back to “6, 7, 8 years old”. As a result, it is not uncommon for him to detect the beginnings of cancer.
This lack of regularity in the follow-up is explained in particular by a mental burden concerning the health of the other members of the family. More than one out of two women (57%) believe that they are responsible for the monitoring and regular check-up of children’s health, compared to only 3% of men. Other elements are pointed out. A calendar overloaded with the management of the home, where they carry out the majority of the household tasks, and the professional career, where they gain in responsibility.
Consultation, the last resort
Gender stereotypes, still very present, also play a role. “A woman who complains of fatigue to her GP will be considered stressed, she will leave with anxiolytics, whereas in a man the reflex will be to check if it is not the heart, because the infarction is cataloged as being a male disease”, explains Murielle Salle, an academic specializing in these issues.
As a result, many women turn to self-medication. They are 85% to first try to treat themselves before consulting, against 77% of men. Result: the medical appointment becomes the last resort. This fact is reinforced in single-parent families where the mother finds herself alone raising the children, all the more so when they live in precarious conditions.
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