| An ethnographic study was undertaken to determine whether older women experienced barriers to health care related to gender and power relations within biomedical culture. A feminist perspective was utilized incorporating concepts from critical medical anthropology. Data collection methods included individual interviews, focus groups, and participant observation. The site for the study was a middle- to upper-income, suburban, midwest city that had a high proportion of senior citizens as well as primary health care clinics. The participants included women who resided in upper- and lower-income senior high-rise buildings as well as private homes within this community. Data analysis included triangulation techniques of overall themes and a critique of macro-social, intermediate-social and micro-social influences.; The need to know was a pervasive theme in all of the data sets examined. Because this knowledge was usually found in the domain of medicine, older women were often in unequal power relationships with physician providers who used this knowledge to maintain control. In response, these women turned to non-physician providers (cleaning women), printed medical resources, and each other in order to gain the knowledge they needed. Barriers related to gender and age were also evident, although not always directly apparent to the women. These barriers were difficult to differentiate because most older persons are women. Of special interest was the lack of difference found between the health care experiences of upper- and lower-income older women. Gender and power relationships within the culture of biomedical practices were not described differently for these women, regardless of their economic status.; As women age, there is an increasing need to access medical care. There is some evidence in the study to suggest that the ability of these women to access medical care will depend on the degree of cultural connectedness they encounter in their particular clinic. |
