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Contextualising gender intersectionality with the COVID-19 pandemic.
1Institute of Infection Prevention and Research, Karachi, Pakistan.
Public Health
|August 30, 2021
Summary
Countries with higher gender inequality and poorer healthcare access show a greater male to female ratio in COVID-19 cases. This suggests underutilization of testing services, influenced by social and policy factors.
Area of Science:
- Global Health
- Epidemiology
- Sociology
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected populations globally.
- Understanding sex-specific disease patterns is crucial for public health.
- Gender inequality and healthcare access are potential determinants of disease surveillance outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between the Gender Inequality Index (GII) and Healthcare Access and Quality Index (HAQI) with the male to female ratio of confirmed COVID-19 cases.
- To identify factors influencing sex-disaggregated COVID-19 case reporting.
Main Methods:
- Secondary analysis of global COVID-19 case data, GII, and HAQI datasets.
- Utilized sex-disaggregated COVID-19 case data from Global Health 50/50.
- Employed Spearman's correlation to assess associations between GII, HAQI, and the male to female case ratio.
Main Results:
- A significant positive correlation was observed between the GII and the male to female ratio of COVID-19 cases (Spearman's rho = 0.681, P < 0.001).
- A significant negative correlation was found between HAQI and the male to female ratio of COVID-19 cases (Spearman's rho = -0.676, P < 0.001).
- Countries like Cambodia, Pakistan, and Nepal exhibited the highest male to female ratios.
Conclusions:
- Higher gender inequality and poorer healthcare access are linked to increased male to female ratios in confirmed COVID-19 cases.
- This disparity may indicate underutilization of testing services among females, influenced by societal and policy factors.
- Emphasizes the need for robust, gender-disaggregated data and gender-responsive strategies for pandemic preparedness and response.
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