Children's health care and the changing role of women

The pivotal role of women as wife, mother or adult daughter in performing health-related activities for family members has received little attention from health researchers or policymakers. Yet the majority of health problems do not reach the medical care system, but are dealt with informally or through other social systems. This article discusses the impact of family health care responsibilities on women's market and nonmarket roles in two areas: home nursing care for children's illnesses and escorting children to sources of formal medical care. National data on the incidence of children's illnesses provide the basis for an analysis of the contribution to absenteeism among employed women represented by care of an ill child. Similarly, data from the National Ambulatory Care Survey form the basis for estimates of the economic value of escort time involved in children's medical care. The analysis suggests that policies directed to assuring adequate health care for children take account of the informal, nonmarket health services in which women now play the major role. It must also be recognized that women's changing labor market roles are affecting the availability of these services and increasing their costs to the women who provide them.