Research conducted by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) indicated that there were large discrepancies between young males and females(12-24 year old) rates for various health issues

Part 2-GENDER DETERMINANTS

Research conducted by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) indicated that there were large discrepancies between young males and females(12-24 year old) rates for various health issues. These issues included mortality arising from injury and poisoning, cases of mental disorders, sexually transmitted diseases and school retention rates. All these issues involve males and females to some extent; however, gender is a crucial determinant in determining which sex is greatly associated with each issue.

The most noticeable difference between young males and females is their overall mortality rate, 51 per 100,000 and 23 per 100,000 respectively (AIHW 2011). The large variance in mortality rate can be somewhat attributed to the greater proportion of male deaths arising from road transport accidents, 13 and 5 per 100,000 for males and females respectively (AIHW 2011). Scott-Parker, Watson and King (2009) emphasize that males are more susceptible to peer pressure and thus they are more likely to undertake in risky action such speeding and aggressive driving when they are in the company of friends. Additionally, males often drive under the influence of drug and alcohol and thus the risk of death increases dramatically. Whereas, females are less subjected to peer pressure from their friends and are even less likely to drive when under the influence of any substance.

Furthermore, suicide is another factor contributing to the higher mortality for males. Studies by AIHW (2011) found that 25% of males, 18 to 24 years of age, drink at a high-risk level compared with only 19.4% of females for that particular age range. Beautrais (2007) has indicated that there is a correlation between substance abuse, e.g. alcohol and drug, and suicide rates and thus these bad lifestyle choices partially explain why the male rate of suicide is nearly four times that of females, 15 compared to 4 per 100,000 respectively (AIHW 2011). It has also been found that suicide is affected by issues such as experiences of bullying, poor social skills, family problems and depression (Beautrais 2007). Regarding these issues, males feel less inclined about opening up about their problems and seeking help (Bardick & Bernes 2007).Whereas, females are more open to verbalising emotional stress and seeking treatment.

Anxiety disorder was more common among females than in males (22 and 9 per 100 respectively) (AIHW 2010). This is not surprising if we consider the characteristics of female youth. Female are extremely susceptible to what others opinion of them and will often go change themselves to meet the expectations of others (Nilan,Julian & Germov 2007, p.65).  Some of these changes such as dieting and drinking have detrimental effects on the mental of females. Furthermore, studies have found that factors such as anxiety, emotional distress, domestic violence and substance and sexual abuse and tend to have a more drastic effect on the mental wellbeing of women compared with men (WHO 2012). All these factors are closely related to the development of anxiety disorder.

In today’s society, youths partake in increased levels of sexual activity which as a result has drastically increased the number of cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (Kang 2007). Young females are approximately twice more likely to contract STIs than males, 1399 and 706 per 100,000 respectively (AIHW 2011). According to Dehne and Riedner (2005), inequalities among genders, such as biological make up, result in females having increased risk of acquiring STIs compared with males. An example of this aspect is Chlamydia, where the rate of contraction is twice as common among females compared with males. The CDC (2012) explains the higher Chlamydia rate of females was due to the cervix (opening to the uterus) not being fully matured and also because girls partake in superior levels of oral sex than males. Additionally, females have a more positive attitude towards disease prevention and will seek medical help for things like contraception and Pap smears and in the process they will usually get tested for Chlamydia (Kostaki, Peristera & Lanke 2011). It may be that there are a lot of untested adolescents and men who may be carrying Chlamydia and thus the male rate may be underestimated.

Young males and females share differing views on the importance of education. Males are more casual in their approach to learning and often prioritise other aspects such as music and sport above education (Clark, 2008). Whereas, females take education very seriously and strive to achieve academic merit because they believe that a good education provides the platform for future success (Nilan,Julian & Germov 2007, p.73). In addition, Clark et al. (2008) highlights the point that females are more adept at schoolwork than males, who are more likely to find schoolwork uninteresting. The combinations of these aspects explain why school retention rate is higher for females than males.

PART 3-GEOGRAPHIC DETERMINANTS

Widespread research has found that there is a correlation between mortality rates between young people living in major cities and those living in rural areas. The mortality rate of youths living in major cities was found to be approximately 2.5 times lower than those living in remote areas. Determinants such as socioeconomic wellbeing and access to health services contribute to this large discrepancy.

Socioeconomic status is one major aspect that contributes to the higher mortality rate of youths in rural area. It has been determined that as remoteness increases, socioeconomic status decreases (Wakerman & Davey 2008). Youths living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas, particularly indigenous youths, are given less opportunity to receive a satisfactory education, have lower income and find employment opportunities limited (AIHW 2011). As a result they obtained inadequate knowledge regarding good lifestyle choices, safety and injury prevention. This aspect is emphasized by the fact that the leading cause of death among indigenous young people living in remote areas was suicide followed by transport accidents (AIHW 2011).

Accessibility to health services is another problem of concern in remote areas. Many people living in rural locations are not afforded the same health services as those living in urban cities. Additionally, the limited number of health care facilities in remote areas also makes it hard for people to access health care even if they wanted to (Wakerman & Davey 2008). Many indigenous people shy away from health care because of factors such distance, cost, transportation and cultural differences (AIHW 2011). Moreover, an individual’s past experience of health treatment also affects their attitude towards future health services. Indigenous people are very sensitive and if they have experienced unsatisfactory or upsetting service in the past will be reluctant to receive future treatment (AIHW 2011). Examples of this include feeling racially discriminated or experiencing lack of cultural understanding.

REFERENCES

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2011, Young Australians: their health and wellbeing 2011, 4th edn, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Canberra.

Bardick, AD & Bernes KB 2007, ‘Conducting Adolescent Suicide Risk Assessments: A Framework for School Counsellors’, Education, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 10-21.

Beautrais, A 2007, ‘Looking back on 2007’, Crisis-The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 159-164.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012, ‘Chlamydia - CDC Fact Sheet’, viewed 25 March 2012, <http://www.cdc.gov/std/chlamydia/stdfact-chlamydia.htm>.

Clark, MA, Thompson, P & Vialle, W 2008, 'Examining the Gender Gap in Educational Outcomes in Public Education: Involving Pre-Service School Counsellors and Teachers in Cross-Cultural and Interdisciplinary Research', International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 52-66.

Dehne, KL & Reidner, G 2005, ‘Sexually transmitted infections among adolescents’, viewed 29 March 2012, < http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2005/9241562889.pdf>.

Kostaki, A, Peristera, P & Lanke, J 2011, ‘Modeling the Relationship Between Male and Female Mortality Patterns in Modern Populations’, Journal of Population Ageing’, vol. 4, no. 1, pp.33-63.

Nilan, P, Julian R & Germov J 2007, Australian Youth: Social and Cultural Issues, Pearson Longman, Sydney.

Scott-Parker B, Watson B & King MJ 2009, 'Understanding the psychosocial factors influencing the risky behaviour of young drivers', Transportation research Part F, Traffic psychology and behaviour, vol. 12, no. 6, pp. 470-482.

Wakerman, J and Davey, C 2008, 'The Next Generation Is Not Going to Put Up with This ...', Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 13-18.

World Health Organisation, 2012, ‘Gender and women’s mental health’, viewed 25 March 2012, < http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/genderwomen/en/>.