reports

Sex differences in health status, health care use and quality of care: a population-based analysis for Manitoba’s regional health authorities

Winnipeg, MB, Canada: Manitoba Centre for Health Policy.

Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Male/female differences in health and health care have been of interest for years, and continue to be central issues in the planning and delivery of health services. However, there is a lack of information available for population-based comparisons of males versus females on a variety of indicators, particularly at the Regional Heath Authority (RHA) level. This atlas-style report provides sex-specific rates for many indicators of health status and health care use. Results are shown for each of Manitoba’s 11 RHAs, and their component districts (except Winnipeg), as well as by area-level income, and by age group for each sex. The analysis is primarily descriptive, not explanatory; that is, it shows what the data reveal, not how or why those results have come about. This report is an overview of male/female differences in health status, health service use, and quality of care, as revealed by analysis of administrative health care data files. It is not a compendium of male-specific and female specific health issues put together into one report; it is an analysis of the key issues which administrative data can address, analyzing males and females separately. It includes many indicators published in previous reports by the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP), but shows results for males and females separately. These differences also vary over the life cycle, so all indicators include analyses of age-specific rates for males and females. The separation is based on the biological fact of ‘sex’, not the concept of ‘gender.’ Sex indicates whether the person is male or female. Gender is a psychological/sociological concept related to differential socialization of males and females, and how a person experiences their roles and relationships with others. There is considerable overlap between sex and gender, but they are not identical. Many of the ‘sex’ differences shown in this report are due primarily to biological differences, but for others, biology may play a limited role in the explanation of the difference, and gender-related issues may be the true determinants.