Office encounters in general practice in the Hamilton health district. III: Social class patterns among females, 15-64.
Previous research suggests that the strong inverse relationship between social class and rates of mortality and morbidity recorded among males is also evident, if in muted form, among females. On such evidence higher levels of health service use might be expected among working class women. The data are drawn from a 1% survey of office encounters in general practices in the Hamilton health district. The results confirm social class differences in the expected direction among women in the paid workforce, with marked differences in most cases. No such differences are evident for women not in paid employment, except in the case of serious conditions. Rates of office encounters among women outside the paid workforce are on average double those for women in employment, with the discrepancy being particularly marked in the top two socioeconomic strata. This high rate of medical contact among middle class women in the home may reflect the joint influence of financial access and freedom from the fixed constraints on time imposed by paid employment.
Davis
P B
PB
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004651:Employment; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand; D009819:Office Visits / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012923:Social Class