The Health Status of Rural Farming Women

농촌여성(農村女性)의 건강실태(健康實態)에 관한 연구(硏究)

1. Background Women's health and their involvement in health care are essential to health for everyone. If they are ignorant, malnourished or over-worked, the health &-their families as well as their own health will suffer. Women's health depends on broad considerations beyond medicine. Among other things, it depends upon their work in farming. their subordination to their families, their accepted roles, and poor hygiene with poorly equipped housing and environmental sanitation. 2. Objectives and Contents a. The health status of rural women : physical and mental complaints, experience of pesticides intoxication, Farmer's syndrome, experiences of reproductive health problems. b. participation in and attitudes towards housework and farming c. accessibility of medical care d. status of maternal health : fertility, family planning practice. induced abortion, and maternal care 3. Research method A nationwide field survey, based on stratified random sampling, was conducted during July, 1986. Revised Cornell Medical index(68 out of 195 items). Kawagai's Farmers Syndrome Scale, and self-developed structured questionnaires were used to rural farming wives(n=2.028). aged between 26-55. 4. Characteristics of the respondents mean age : 40.2 marital status : 90.8% married mean no. of household : 4.9 average years of education : 4.7 yrs. average income of household : \235,000 average years of residence in rural area : 36.4 yrs average Working hours(household and farming) : 11 hrs. 23 min 5. Health Status of rural women a. The average number of physical and mental symptoms were 12.4, 4.7, and the rate of complaints were 22.1%, 38.8% each. revealing complaints of mental symptomes higher than physical ones. b. 65.4% of rural women complained of more than 4 symptoms out of 9, indicating farmer's syndrome. 11.9 % experienced pesticide overdue syndrome c. 57.6% of respondents experienced women-specific health problems. d. Age and education of respondents were the variables which affect on the level of their health 6. Utilization of medical services a. The number of symptoms and complaints of respondents were dependent on the distance to where the health-care service is given b. Drug store was the most commonly utilized due to low price and the distance to reach. while nurse practitioners were well utilized when there were nurse practitioner's office in their villages. c. Rural women were internalized their subordination to husbands and children, revealing they are positive(93%) in health-care demand for-them but negative(30%) for themselves d. 33.0% of respondents were habitual drug users, 4.5% were smokers and 32.3% were alcohol drinkers. and 86.3% experienced induced-abortion. But most of them(77.6%) knew that those had negative effects on health. 7. Maternal Health Care a. Practice rate of contraception was 48.1% : female users were 90.9% in permanent and 89.6% in temporary contraception b. Induced abortions were taken mostly at hospital(86.3%), while health centers(4.7%), midwiferies(4.3%). and others(4.5%) including drug stores were listed a few. The repeated numbers of induced abortion seemed affected on the increasing numbers of symptoms and complaints. c. The first pre-natal check-up during first trimester was 41.8%, safe delivery rate was 15.6%, post-natal check-up during two months after delivery. Rural women had no enough rest after delivery revealing average days of rest from home work and farming 8.3 and 17.2. d. 86.6% practised breast feeding, showing younger and more educated mothers depending on artificial milk 8. Recommendations a. To lessen the multiple role over burden housing and sanitary conditions should be improved, and are needed farming machiner es for women and training on the use of them b. Health education should begin at primary school including health behavior and living environment. c. Women should be encouraged to become policy-makers as well as administrators in the field of women specific health affairs. d. Women's health indicators should be developed and women's health surveillance system too.