Research into Women's Health and Care Disparities

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of our scientific journal delves into the persistent and complex problem of women's health and care disparities. Despite global efforts, considerable disparities in healthcare access, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes exist between genders. These disparities further intersect with identities such as race, age, socioeconomic status, and disability, thereby creating intricate patterns of health inequalities. Our goal is to enhance our understanding of these disparities, inform policies, and improve health outcomes for women.

We aim to probe the gender-based differences and disparities among women, emphasizing epidemiological studies highlighting discrepancies in healthcare services' access, diagnosis, and treatment. We are interested in contributions that deepen our understanding of disparities' causes and provide solutions.

This Special Issue is a platform to stimulate vital discussions on women's health and care disparities, focusing on contributing factors and potential remedies. Our investigation will cover areas such as differential access to healthcare, variations in health outcomes, intersectionality, impacts of societal and cultural norms, and the role of policy.

We eagerly await your submissions in these crucial areas, contributing to the field of women's health disparities. We welcome original research papers, reviews, case reports, methodological papers, brief reports, and commentaries that explore the following areas:

1. Epidemiological Studies and Mechanisms: Investigations into gender-based disparities in diagnosis, treatment, health outcomes, and the underlying mechanisms leading to these disparities.
2. Intersectionality and Health Disparities: Analyses of intersectional effects of race, age, socioeconomic status, and disability on women's health outcomes and access to care.
3. Culturally Informed Approaches and Policies: Studies exploring culturally informed approaches and policy interventions for addressing disparities in women's health.
4. Societal Factors and Case Studies: Examination of societal, policy, and cultural influences on women's health disparities, with case studies demonstrating successful mitigation efforts.
5. Disparity Variations and Innovative Interventions: Discussions on variations in disparities influenced by socioeconomic and demographic factors, alongside innovative strategies promising in disparity reduction.
6. Role of Technology in Women's Healthcare: Assessments of the influence of technology and digitalization in either exacerbating or mitigating disparities in women's healthcare.
7. Psychosocial Variables and Specific Health Conditions: Evaluations of psychosocial factors impacting women's health behaviors and effects of specific health conditions on women's health outcomes.
8. Health Promotion Behaviors: Investigations into health promotion behaviors among diverse ethnic/racial women, including motivating factors for physical activity and weight management.
9. Barriers in Medical Research: Exploration of challenges hampering progress in women's health research, especially among minority women.
10. Comparative Studies and Intervention Effectiveness: Comparative studies examining health disparities among different demographic groups and evaluations of intervention effectiveness in promoting health behaviors among low-income women.

While these themes serve as a guide, they are not exhaustive. We are open to contributions exploring under-discussed or overlooked areas pertinent to our topic. We aim to compile a robust collection of work that can steer future research, policy, and practice toward improved health equity in women's healthcare.

Dr. Ines Aguinaga-Ontoso
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.