Forum

Gender inequality: Bad for men's health

Morna Cornell
Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine | Vol 14, No 1 | a95 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhivmed.v14i1.95 | © 2013 Morna Cornell | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 12 December 2013 | Published: 26 February 2013

About the author(s)

Morna Cornell, Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

Men’s increased risk of death in ART programmes in sub-Saharan Africa is widely reported but poorly understood. Some studies have attributed this risk to men’s poorer health-seeking behaviour, which may prevent them from accessing ART, being adherent to treatment, or remaining in care. In a multicentre analysis of 46 201 adults starting ART in urban and rural settings in South Africa, these factors only partly explained men’s increased mortality while receiving ART. Importantly, the gender difference in mortality among patients receiving ART (31% higher for men than women) was substantially smaller than that among HIV-negative South Africans, where men had twice the risk of death compared with women. Yet, this extreme gender inequality in mortality, both within and outside of ART programmes, has not given rise to widespread action. Here it is argued that, despite their dominance in society, men may be subject to a wide range of unfair discriminatory practices, which negatively affect their health outcomes. The health needs of men and boys require urgent attention.

S Afr J HIV Med 2013;14(1):12-14. DOI:10.7196/SAJHIVMED.894

Keywords

No related keywords in the metadata.

Metrics

Total abstract views: 5394
Total article views: 8789

 

Crossref Citations

1. Gender Differences in Outcomes of Antiretroviral Treatment Among HIV-Infected Patients in China: A Retrospective Cohort Study, 2010–2015
Meiling Chen, Zhihui Dou, Liming Wang, Yasong Wu, Decai Zhao, Xiumin Gan, Ran Hu, Ye Ma, Fujie Zhang
JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes  vol: 76  issue: 3  first page: 281  year: 2017  
doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000001500

2. One year on - the long-term impact of COVID-19 pandemic and government restrictions on the health-seeking behaviour, financial security and mental health of TB survivors
Nelly Jinga, Kamban Hirasen, Olena Ivanova, Andrea Rachow, Salome Charalambous, Knut Lönnroth, Aneesa Moolla, Mohammed Rassool, Denise Evans
BMC Public Health  vol: 25  issue: 1  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-24006-2

3. High mortality rates in men initiated on anti-retroviral treatment in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Kogieleum Naidoo, Razia Hassan-Moosa, Nonhlanhla Yende-Zuma, Dhineshree Govender, Nesri Padayatchi, Halima Dawood, Rochelle Nicola Adams, Aveshen Govender, Tilagavathy Chinappa, Salim Abdool-Karim, Quarraisha Abdool-Karim, Cristian Apetrei
PLOS ONE  vol: 12  issue: 9  first page: e0184124  year: 2017  
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0184124

4. A Second Look at the Association between Gender and Mortality on Antiretroviral Therapy
Serena P. Koenig, Alexandra Bornstein, Karine Severe, Elizabeth Fox, Jessy G. Dévieux, Patrice Severe, Patrice Joseph, Adias Marcelin, Dgndy Alexandre Bright, Ngoc Pham, Pierre Cremieux, Jean William Pape, Dimitrios Paraskevis
PLOS ONE  vol: 10  issue: 11  first page: e0142101  year: 2015  
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0142101

5. Antihypertensive treatment and blood pressure trends among South African adults: A repeated cross-sectional analysis of a population panel survey
Annibale Cois, Rodney Ehrlich, C. Mary Schooling
PLOS ONE  vol: 13  issue: 8  first page: e0200606  year: 2018  
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0200606

6. Ten‐year attrition and antiretroviral therapy response among HIV‐positive adults: a sex‐based cohort analysis from eight West African countries
Thierry Tiendrebeogo, Eugène Messou, Shino Arikawa, Didier K Ekouevi, Aristophane Tanon, Vivian Kwaghe, Eric Balestre, Marcel Djimon Zannou, Armel Poda, François Dabis, Antoine Jaquet, Albert Minga, Renaud Becquet
Journal of the International AIDS Society  vol: 24  issue: 5  year: 2021  
doi: 10.1002/jia2.25723

7. Prevalence of Vitamin B12 deficiency in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus on Metformin therapy at a single centre in Johannesburg, South Africa
Bafo Kondlo, Zaheera Cassimjee, Courtney Olivier, Zaheer Bayat
Wits Journal of Clinical Medicine  vol: 6  issue: 1  year: 2024  
doi: 10.18772/26180197.2024.v6n1a2

8. The role of self-care interventions on men’s health-seeking behaviours to advance their sexual and reproductive health and rights
Manjulaa Narasimhan, Carmen H. Logie, Kevin Moody, Jonathan Hopkins, Oswaldo Montoya, Anita Hardon
Health Research Policy and Systems  vol: 19  issue: 1  year: 2021  
doi: 10.1186/s12961-020-00655-0

9. Exploring the workload of informal caregiving in the context of HIV/NCD multimorbidity in South Africa
Myrna van Pinxteren, Charlotte Slome, Frances S. Mair, Carl R. May, Naomi S. Levitt, Adobea Yaa Owusu
PLOS Global Public Health  vol: 4  issue: 10  first page: e0003782  year: 2024  
doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0003782

10. Attrition from HIV care among youth initiating ART in youth‐only clinics compared with general primary healthcare clinics in Khayelitsha, South Africa: a matched propensity score analysis
Tali Cassidy, Morna Cornell, Pumeza Runeyi, Thembie Dutyulwa, Charllen Kilani, Laura Trivino Duran, Nompumelelo Zokufa, Virginia de Azevedo, Andrew Boulle, C. Robert Horsburgh, Matthew P. Fox
Journal of the International AIDS Society  vol: 25  issue: 1  year: 2022  
doi: 10.1002/jia2.25854

11. Prevalence and Risk Factors for Overweight and Obesity among HIV-Infected Adults in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Helen Semu, Rachel M. Zack, Enju Liu, Ellen Hertzmark, Donna Spiegelman, Kevin Sztam, Claudia Hawkins, Guerino Chalamila, Aisa Muya, Hellen Siril, Ramadhani Mwiru, Deo Mtasiwa, Wafaie Fawzi
Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (JIAPAC)  vol: 15  issue: 6  first page: 512  year: 2016  
doi: 10.1177/2325957414542574

12. Health Care-Seeking Behaviour of Coastal Communities in Banyuwangi, Indonesia: Results of A Cross-Sectional Survey
Susy Katikana Sebayang, Erni Astutik, Desak Made Sintha Kurnia Dewi, Ayik Mirayanti Mandagi, Septa Indra Puspikawati
Jurnal Ners  vol: 12  issue: 1  first page: 66  year: 2017  
doi: 10.20473/jn.v12i1.4439

13. Attrition from Care Among Men Initiating ART in Male-Only Clinics Compared with Men in General Primary Healthcare Clinics in Khayelitsha, South Africa: A Matched Propensity Score Analysis
Tali Cassidy, Morna Cornell, Bubele Makeleni, C. Robert Horsburgh, Laura Trivino Duran, Virginia de Azevedo, Andrew Boulle, Matthew P. Fox
AIDS and Behavior  vol: 27  issue: 1  first page: 358  year: 2023  
doi: 10.1007/s10461-022-03772-9

14. A cross-sectional, facility based study of comorbid non-communicable diseases among adults living with HIV infection in Zimbabwe
Itai M. Magodoro, Tonya M. Esterhuizen, Tawanda Chivese
BMC Research Notes  vol: 9  issue: 1  year: 2016  
doi: 10.1186/s13104-016-2187-z

15. Negotiations of Blame and Care among HIV‐positive Mothers and Daughters in South Africa's Eastern Cape
Beth Vale, Rebecca Hodes, Lucie Cluver
Medical Anthropology Quarterly  vol: 31  issue: 4  first page: 519  year: 2017  
doi: 10.1111/maq.12351

16. Prevalence and incidence rates of laboratory-confirmed hepatitis B infection in South Africa, 2015 to 2019
Shelina Moonsamy, Melinda Suchard, Pavitra Pillay, Nishi Prabdial-Sing
BMC Public Health  vol: 22  issue: 1  year: 2022  
doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-12391-3

17. Women's (health) work: A population-based, cross-sectional study of gender differences in time spent seeking health care in Malawi
Sara Yeatman, Stephanie Chamberlin, Kathryn Dovel, Philip Anglewicz
PLOS ONE  vol: 13  issue: 12  first page: e0209586  year: 2018  
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209586

18. C - reactive protein and interleukin - 6 levels among human immunodeficiency virus -infected patients with dysglycemia in Tanzania
Lilian Nkinda, Kirtika Patel, Benson Njuguna, Jean Pierre Ngangali, Peter Memiah, George M. Bwire, Mtebe V. Majigo, Mucho Mizinduko, Sonak D. Pastakia, Eligius Lyamuya
BMC Endocrine Disorders  vol: 19  issue: 1  year: 2019  
doi: 10.1186/s12902-019-0407-y

19. Comparison of HIV Risk Behaviors Between Clinical Trials and Observational Cohorts in Uganda
Andrew Abaasa, Stephen Nash, Yunia Mayanja, Matt A. Price, Patricia E. Fast, Pontiano Kaleebu, Jim Todd
AIDS and Behavior  vol: 24  issue: 10  first page: 2872  year: 2020  
doi: 10.1007/s10461-020-02838-w

20. Factors Associated with Late Engagement to HIV Care in Western Kenya
Charles Meja Kwobah, Paula Braitstein, Julius K. Koech, Gilbert Simiyu, Ann W. Mwangi, Kara Wools-Kaloustian, Abraham M. Siika
Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (JIAPAC)  vol: 15  issue: 6  first page: 505  year: 2016  
doi: 10.1177/2325957414567682

21. Strategies for retention of heterosexual men in HIV care in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review
Sylvia Kusemererwa, Dickens Akena, Damalie Nakanjako, Joanita Kigozi, Regina Nanyunja, Mastula Nanfuka, Bennet Kizito, Joseph Mugisha Okello, Nelson Kawulukusi Sewankambo, Claudia Marotta
PLOS ONE  vol: 16  issue: 2  first page: e0246471  year: 2021  
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246471

22. Hepatitis B infection status among South Africans attending public health facilities over a five-year period: 2015 to 2019
Shelina Moonsamy, Pavitra Pillay, Nishi Prabdial-Sing, Abram L. Wagner
PLOS Global Public Health  vol: 3  issue: 9  first page: e0000992  year: 2023  
doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0000992

23. Strategies for engaging men in HIV services
Christopher J Colvin
The Lancet HIV  vol: 6  issue: 3  first page: e191  year: 2019  
doi: 10.1016/S2352-3018(19)30032-3