Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

How women negotiate family responsibilities and personal health

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/t435gg72n

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  • Women’s health affects women and society as a whole. In addition to paid employment, women provide unpaid labor as they care for their families, their homes, and ailing relatives. Only by staying healthy can women provide care to their families. Using a feminist perspective, this study examined how women manage both their family responsibilities and their personal health. A sample of 13 women participated in this study. These women ranged in age from 35 – 55 years of age and in educational levels from 12 – 18 years. All but one of the participants were employed outside the home, and all were Caucasian. All 13 women who participated in this study were at risk for developing metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of health problems including diabetes. The participants attended a 12-week intervention that consisted of weekly classes on nutrition and the benefits of exercise. Qualitative interviews with the participants occurred 2 to 5 weeks after the intervention was completed. The interview questions were focused on the experiences the women had while trying to make diet and exercise changes and how their families responded to those attempts at change. This study used qualitative analysis to look for themes and patterns regarding women’s attempts to make diet and exercise changes to decrease their risk of diabetes. Three factors were found to influence changes in diet and exercise. First, family support influenced the participant’s ability to make positive changes. Family support for this study included support from any family member, including extended family members, and was in the form of encouragement, interest in what the participant was learning, and exercising with the participant. Second, women from families in which exercise was part of other family members’ routines demonstrated more change in exercise than those from families where exercise was not a routine part of family life. Finally, family demands negatively influenced some women’s ability to make diet and exercise changes as shown by three women who had disabled family members living in their homes. The women in this study experienced both structural and psychological ambivalence when trying to fulfill multiple roles of wife, mother, employee, and so forth. In terms of structural ambivalence, women from complicated families seemed unable to meet both the needs of their family members and their own health needs. Such women are vulnerable to failing when attempting to make health behavior changes. The women also experienced psychological ambivalence within their relationships with family members when trying to prioritize their own needs above those of others. The results of this study should help in designing interventions that increase the likelihood of women’s success in balancing family needs with needs regarding their own health.
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