Gender Disparity Phenomena in Riskesdas 2007

Background: The contradictory evidence of greater life expectancy among Indonesian female while our 2007 National Health Report, Riskesdas 2007 showed that female leads male almost in all morbidity needs explanation. Differences in health and illness patterns of men and women are attributable both to sex, or biology, and to gender, that is social factors such as powerlessness, access to resources, and constrained roles. Methods: The paper use gender perspective to analyse phenomena from the Riskesdas 2007 report. Two gender related hypotheses, one with risk factors exposure approach developed by Lois Verbrugge, and the other on female sub-ordination developed by Amartya Sen were applied to explain the health phenomena between female and male health as shown in the Riskesdas 2007 report. Results: Equal nutritional status between under-five female and male and equal access to health service in the Riskesdas 2007 report provides evidence of no gender inequality in Indonesia. Indonesian males are indeed more exposed to death relate drisk behavior, especially smoking and accidents, while Indonesian female engaged in more pro healthy behavior. But higher female morbidity and mortality related to diaorrhea demands more study exploration. Conclusion: Health status in Riskesdas 2007 shows no gender inequality in Indonesia. Higher exposure to death related risk behavior lead to higher mortality in Indonesia male, which reflects in the lower life expectancy in Indonesian male. Recommendation: Indonesian males should be more engaged in pro healthy behavior to increase their life expectancy and health promotion should be targeted to reduce death related risk behavior.