Gender and medication use among older women and men in Ismailia, Egypt

Kathryn M. Yount, Emory University
Zeinab Khadr, American University in Cairo

This paper explores whether differences between women and men in economic resources, social support, prior use of health care, and perceived morbidity, as well as differences in objective measures of cognitive and physical function, account for differences in women’s and men’s use of ‘modern’ medication in Ismailia, Egypt. Analyses are based two waves of survey data and in-home physical performance tests collected from 896 adults aged ³50 years in Ismailia governorate, Egypt. Results show that women report higher unadjusted use of ‘modern’ medication than do men; however, this difference is accounted for by differences in: reported morbidity and disability, observed cognitive and physical function, and economic resources. Findings underscore the potential roles of ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ in explaining differences between women’s and men’s use of biomedical care in later life in a setting where females have experienced poorer access to care in early childhood.