ABSTRACT
Physical health is not just a biological phenomenon, but a psychosocial one as well. It involves both individual behaviors and lifestyles and societal systems. There is a growing realization that women's health and health care are linked to inequalities in assessment, treatment, and access to care, and lack of research on health topics relevant to women in general and to ethnic minority women in particular. This chapter examines some issues in women's health and health care. It focuses on health services and describes sexually transmitted infections, including AIDS, which has become the scourge of adolescent and young women worldwide. The chapter then explores some disorders that tend to affect women in the middle and later years: reproductive system disorders, osteoporosis, heart disease, breast cancer, and lung cancer. It then deals with a discussion of women's health later in life and concludes by focusing on ways to promote good health.
