Gender Gap and PVH Prevention
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Gender Gap and PVH Prevention
Human Papillomavirus is a viral, sexually transmitted infection. It is transmitted through skin to skin contact and mainly affects the victim’s genitals, throat, and mouth. Human papillomavirus is one of the leading causes of cervical cancer, penile cancer, vulva, vaginal cancer, anal tumors, and head and neck cancer. Prolonged use of contraceptives, smoking of cigarettes, alcohol consumption, and sexual intercourse with an uncircumcised partner, infection with HIV/AIDS, and low socioeconomic status can also cause some cancers. In the past, most governments have funded the vaccination of girls against Human papillomavirus. Even though boys are also at risk of contracting this infection, many governments worldwide have overlooked them. These governments argue that boys have much less risk of contracting the virus as compared to girls.
Most countries in Africa do not offer government-funded vaccination of HPV at all. Recent studies have shown that boys face almost the risk of contracting the virus as girls. Most governments in the developed countries have started vaccinating boys alongside girls to deal with this infection. The ministries of health in Canada, the USA, and most countries in Europe have started funding the vaccination of boys and girls’ vaccination (Armstrong et al., 2019). The policy changes to publicly fund the program and to include boys in the prevention program are being adopted progressively in various states and countries.
There is still a wide gender gap in dealing with HPV prevention and treatment globally and even among the nations adopting a gender-sensitive approach in dealing with this matter (Dehaas, 2016). Even though this trend is spreading, in Canada, not all states have adopted this gender-sensitive measure. Some states are still vaccinating girls only. Even though some institutions and organizations offer these vaccines in different parts of the world, the government’s commitment has more benefits in dealing with this infection. The economic burden associated with dealing with this infection has prevented developing countries’ governments from committing to shouldering this budget. As a result, only girls are vaccinated in some countries and none in some parts of the world. When governments commit to including this vaccination in the national immunization program, the cost of immunization is reduced, and the process is well documented for future references.
Living conditions, education, employment, working conditions, and income distribution play an important role in determining gender equity in the healthcare sector. Some marginalized groups of people find it harder to access healthcare services than the rest of the population. Gender as a factor plays an essential role in the health system and specifically in dealing with the HPV. When developing public policies that touch on social safety, women are usually more affected than men. Because of their role as caretakers at home, most women work part-time, have less income than men, experience more discrimination in the workplace, and are less likely to receive unemployment benefits. This puts women at a disadvantage of dealing with the available health concerns as compared to men. Likewise, biological differences between men and women put women at a much higher risk of contracting STIs than men. Besides, men have much more power over sexual situations as compared to women (Armstrong et al., 2019).
There is a stigma associated with HPV. Due to the stigma, most people find it difficult to seek medical services in some parts of the world. In these regions of the world, women are less likely to seek treatment and psychological help for this infection than men. Hence there is more need to take a gender-neutral approach when developing solutions to this problem. Regarding the prevention of HPV, most governments have taken the above factors into account when developing policies to deal with the problem. The policies have favored the girl over the boy in the face of financial constraints. But as time progresses, the concern for the boy child is increasing regarding the prevention of HPV.
Historically, research on human papillomavirus was conducted in connection with cervical cancer. This ensured women were the focus of research and implementation of the solution to the problem of HPV. All the prevention strategies laid down excluded the boy in favor of the girl for this basic reason. Even though there is no feminist angle to this truth, the politics of women’s economic capabilities and the social advantages that men have over women also played an important role in shaping the policies even as the research grew to include boys. Having a separate program for boys’ vaccination from girls can be a heavy burden to the government, institutions, or organizations involved. The solution would be to adopt a gender-neutral vaccine that is used for both boys and girls. This move will cut down the cost of vaccination. That way, the governments that adopt this vaccine into their national immunization program will automatically cater to both genders (Thomas, & Snell, 2013). This, too, will reduce the cost of immunization.
In Canada, The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) has been at the forefront of dealing with the gender gap in dealing with PHV. Referring to a letter from the RNAO to the ministry of health in the state of Ontario, the following was has been noted: The population finds it difficult to pay the cost of $400 – $500 for those who cannot access the vaccination hence the need to make the immunization program universal and accessible to all. The infection from male to female is high, hence the need to include the boy child in the immunization program (Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, 2014).
There is a testing program for female cervical cancer patients, but there is no cancer test for their male counterparts. There is a need for an introduction of cancer test for boys as regards HPV related cancer. Universally funding the immunization program for both males and females will reduce the stigma associated with HPV and related diseases. Various groups are pushing for the universal public funding of the HPV immunization program for both boys and girls. The RNAO also made the following recommendations to the ministry of health as a measure to deal with HPV and beat the gender gap:
The RNAO recommended the HPV vaccines be given from grade 7 instead of grade 8 and that the vaccines be publicly funded. The program is extended to boys as opposed to girls only as it was initially. It was also recommended that the program be extended to the age of 26 and be publicly funded. The program is also expected to include men who have sex with men in the program since they also risk contracting the infection. The government should start a publicity campaign to ensure awareness of the program among all eligible groups. To ensure the safety of the vaccine, the ministry of health should work closely with Ontario’s public health to publicly monitor and report the findings (Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, 2014).
There is still a wide gap that needs to be filled to treat and prevent the world’s human papillomavirus adequately. The effort to bridge the gender gap is a step in the right direction, but there is still more to be done, especially in poverty-stricken developing countries. The WHO should work closely with governments worldwide to ensure HPV vaccination is included in the national immunization programs. They should also push for a gender-neutral approach in dealing with this problem.
References
Armstrong, P., Armstrong, H., Choiniere, J., Feldberg, G., & White, J. P. (2019). Take care: Warning signals for Canada’s health system. University of Toronto Press.
Dehaas, J. (2016, April 21). Ontario extending free HPV vaccines to boys. CTV News. http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/ontario-extending-free-hpv-vaccines-to-boys-1.2869481
Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario. (2014). RNAO letter re HPV vaccination to Minister Mathews. https://rnao.ca/policy/letters/hpv-vaccination-program
Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (March, 2014). RNAO urges the government of Ontario to improve health by funding Universal access to Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccination Program. https://rnao.ca/sites/rnao- ca/files/References_for_universal_HPV_letter.pdf
Thomas, T. L., & Snell, S. (2013). Vaccinate boys with the HPV vaccine? Really?. Journal for specialists in pediatric nursing : JSPN, 18(2), 165–169. https://doi.org/10.1111/jspn.12025