Essay – health issues that face marginalized/minority women

Essay – health issues that face marginalized/minority women

DETAILSThe health issues that face marginalized/minority women

Write a 1200 word (Approximately five typed pages using a 12 point font) essay on the topic listed below. The purpose of the assignment is to give you a chance to make connections between the ideas in the various modules in the course.

When preparing your paper you should draw on at least three Modules and at least five assigned readings . You may draw on personal experience and observation, but the course material must always take precedence.

See “Expectations for the Final Essay” below.

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Final Essay Topic

THIS ASSIGNMENT IS CANADIAN BASED

In your final paper you are to discuss:

“The health issues that face marginalized/minority women”

You can concentrate on one minority group such as women of colour, women from the LGBT community or Aboriginal women or you can discuss various groups – but no more than three different groups. (The ones listed are suggestions only; you can choose the one(s) that you believe are of greatest interest to you). Keep in mind that this is a short paper and you are to follow the parameters for the assignment set out above.

To conclude, consider what measure or measures (discuss no more than two) that can be taken to address the health care needs of marginalized women.

You will be graded on the choices you make, the resources you use, and the way that you expressed yourself.

Do not hesitate to contact the Course Supervisor if you want to discuss your choices. Contact information is included on the course’s homepage. Essay – health issues that face marginalized/minority women

Expectations for the Final Essay

Included here are some of the expectations I have regarding the final essay assignment in this course. Please note that marks may be deducted for not following these directions:

1. Sources: You are to use only the course material for the preparation of your final paper. I expect that you will draw broadly from across the course in developing the ideas in your paper. You should use material from at least three different modules and you should use at least five assigned readings. For example, if you were addressing the question “Why is aging a women’s issue?” you could use material from Module 1 on the demographics of aging, from Module 2 on the double standard of aging and on Module 5 regarding health issues, and so on. I also expect that you will draw heavily on the assigned readings under content on D2L. If you approach your sources in this light you will have a wealth of material from which to draw.
2. Length: the essay should be approximately 6 pages (1200 words) plus a bibliography. A paper much shorter than this would not cover the topic adequately. I calculate a page to be 25 typed double-spaced lines of 10 words each, making a total of 250 words per page. If you are handwriting your essay, you must adjust accordingly for length.
3. Cover Page: Your paper should have a cover page, which would clearly set out the following: your name, the course number, the professor’s name, the essay title, and any other information you think is important.
4. Title: Academic essays should have a title, which suggests the content of your paper. If your paper is on heart disease, your title will read something about the topic such as “Heart Disease: A History of Neglecting Women.” As noted above, your title will be set out on your cover page.
5. Reference Notes: You must use proper references throughout your paper (parenthetical notes, endnotes or footnotes). If using parenthetical notes, simply use the module and the page when citing the Manual, i.e. (Module 1 9). When referencing articles and formatting your bibliography use the Manual as a guide, or use any recognized academic reference guide (APA, MLA, U of Chicago Press, etc.) but be consistent. Essays that do not have reference notes will not be graded.
6. Direct Quotes: Limit yourself to no more than two direct quotes. You must learn to take an idea from an author, shape it into your own words, and use a reference note to show where you got the idea. You cannot have too many reference notes. Better to have more than not enough.
7. Bibliography: The final page of your essay will be your bibliography or list of references used. This will be made up of only the sources used to construct your essay but will include material from the course Manual. Don’t “pad” your bibliography with sources you did not actually use. When formatting your bibliography use any recognized academic reference guide (APA, MLA, U of Chicago Press, etc.) but be consistent (you can also use as an example, any of the bibliography or list of articles at the end of any of the articles in the course. You can access excellent style guides from the internet. For example, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu. When listing articles you have used to develop your paper cite the author of the article, the title of the article and the publication data. An essay that does not have a bibliography/references will not be graded.

The health issues that face marginalized/minority women

The health issues that face marginalized/minority women

Reproductive and Sexual Health Challenges Facing the Aboriginal Women

Introduction

Aboriginal women constitute about 4.3 percent of the female population in Canada, yet they remain as the most oppressed and marginalized minorities in the country. Aboriginal women face a disproportionately high level of adverse sexual health and reproductive outcomes, such as complicated childbirth, sexual transmitted infections as well as changes in the menstrual and menopause cycles. These challenges have complicated an already complex health care system for the First Nation Women. It is widely acknowledged that the destruction of Aboriginal cultures has placed women at heightened risk of sexual health challenges. Today, First Nation women experience enhanced rates of reproductive and sexual health issues including high incidences of reproductive tract infections, HIV/AIDS, cervical cancer, high-risk pregnancies, and maternal mortality – to mention a few. In this respect, this research paper focuses on the reproductive and sexual health challenges experienced by aboriginal women with more emphasis being placed on childbirth, sexual transmitted infections as well as changes in the menstrual and menopause cycles. Essay – health issues that face marginalized/minority women.

Childbirth Issues among the Aboriginal Women

Childbirth is a critical life activity in all societies. Midwives were the main caregivers among the Aboriginal groups. Typically, care during the period of pregnancy occurred within the woman’s locality and birth took place at home. The medicalization of health care in Canada was implemented in 1972 and has shaped the country’s maternal health care system for decades. Medicalization of maternal health has become commonplace among the non-aboriginal populace. As a matter of fact, there is sizeable evidence that suggest that many women in Canada have embraced medicalization as far as maternal health is concerned. The main motivator of enhanced maternal medicalization is the fact that women want to have healthy babies. The era of medicalization of maternal health led to a drastic drop in reproductive deaths in the West during the 20^th century when medicalization become commonplace. Evidence suggests that death rates are lower where medicalization of birth has taken foothold. It has been established that the chances of having a healthy baby and the mother surviving increases with improved maternal medical technologies (Johanson, Newburn and Macfarlane, 2002).

However, medicalization of maternal health has had limited impact on the aboriginal women due to a number of constraints. First, the aboriginal women are confined in the rural areas which makes it very difficult for them to access to health care facilities. The rural setup encourages the traditional technique of mothers giving birth from home and this is the main contributor to high rates of maternal deaths among the aboriginal women. Second, the cost of maternal health is prohibitive to the aboriginal women. Most aboriginal women in Canada do not have access to health insurance and this makes it very difficult for them to access medicalized childbirth programs aimed at improving maternal health (Kornelsen et al. 2010). Essay – health issues that face marginalized/minority women

Sexual Transmitted Infections

The rate of sexual transmitted infections is higher among the aboriginal populace than in the general Canadian populace. Low socioeconomic status, marginalization as well as high incidences of sexual abuse are the primary motivators of aboriginal women engaging in unprotected sex with new partners (Wershler, 2004). It is has been noted that the North American region is experiencing an explosion of sexual transmitted infections. There is a general feeling that this trend will continue going into the future because sexual activities with multiple partners has gained foothold in the Western society than ever before. Today, young women are having sex with multiple partners than ever before. What is surprising is the large percentage of women having unprotected sex without using a condom in order to shield themselves against STIs. Women are generally shy to ask their male partners to use a condom because most of the times, the male reject the idea. This situation is replicated in the Aboriginal society. HIV is more prevalent among the First Nation women. Risky sexual behavior has been acknowledged as the primary contributor to the spread of HIV/AIDs. Existing statistics point to the fact that women are more vulnerable to STIs than men are. In most incidences, rates of chlamydia for women aged between 15 to 17 were reported to be 7 times higher than it is among males of the same age group. Incidences of gonorrhea and syphilis are also high among women as compared to men within the identified age bracket (McCarthy, 2011). These incidences are even higher among the aboriginal women. The rate of cervical cancer among the Aboriginal women is three times higher than the non- Aboriginal women in Canada. The reason for this higher statistics could be due to enhanced unprotected sexual activities among the Aboriginal women. Lack of awareness has been blamed for the widespread of STIs among the Aboriginal population. There is need to enhance education and awareness among Aboriginal population on the effects of STIs.

Changing Menstrual and Menopause Cycles

Menstruation occurs among most women aged from 13 to 50 years. Menopause, like menstruation is a universal experience for all women. Menopause marks the end of the productive age of a woman.  Today, the Canadian populace is made up of aging women and as a result there is a high concentration of women who have hit the menopause phase of life in the country. Menstruation among the Aboriginal women, like any other society that still observes ancient cultural practices, is shrouded in secrecy. However, today, menstruation and menopause  issues are increasingly gaining populace in the world of research and academia as reproductive health issues become a widely research area. Today, menstruation occurs in women early and menopause is likely to happen earlier to changes in reproductive health. One contributor that has been assigned the blame of changing menstruation and menopause periods is the use of family planning techniques that alter hormonal imbalance (Roberts, 2000). There is a general increase in the use of family planning tools across the Canadian populace and this has been blamed for the changes experienced in the menstrual and menopause cycles (Loshny, 2004). Among the Aboriginal women, the cases are rare, but the increasingly openness of the society on the use of contraceptives is likely to have an impact on this segment of the population. Essay – health issues that face marginalized/minority women

Recommendation and Conclusion

Reproductive and sexual health issues are increasingly becoming important in the Canadian society, especially among the First Nation populace. Against this background, this paper recommends that:

1. Medicalization of childbirth to be enhanced among the First Nation population in order to limit incidences of maternal deaths
2. Awareness should be raised on the spread of STI’s among the Aboriginal population in order to reduce the prevalence

In conclusion, it has been established that although the Aboriginal women constitute about 4.3 percent of the female population in Canada, they remain as the most oppressed and marginalized minorities in the country. Aboriginal women face a disproportionately high level of adverse sexual health and reproductive outcomes, such as complicated childbirth, sexual transmitted infections as well as changes in the menstrual and menopause cycles. These incidences can be ameliorated through enhanced medicalization of maternal health and increase awareness on the effects of STIs on the Aboriginal population.

References

Johanson, R., Newburn, M. and Macfarlane, A. (2002). Has the Medicalization of Childbirth Gone Too Far?. British Medical Journal, 324(7342), 892.

Kornelsen, Jude, et al. (2010). “The geography of belonging: The experience of birthing at home for First Nations women“ in Health & Place 16(4), 638-645.

Loshny, H. (2004). From Birth Control to Menstrual Control: The Launch of the Extended Oral Contraceptive, Seasonale. Canadian Woman Studies, 24(1), 63-67.

McCarthy, M. (2011). Prescribing Contraception to Women with Intellectual Disabilities: General Practititioners’ Attitudes and Practices. Sexuality and Disability 29(4), 339-349.

Roberts, D. (2000). Black Women and the Pill. Family Planning Perspectives, 32(2), 92-93

Wershler, L. (2004). Depo-Provera: Does this Contraceptive Choice Support the Health and Well-Being of Adolescents and Young Women. Canadian Woman Studies, 24(1), 105-107. Essay – health issues that face marginalized/minority women