The present study demonstrates the need to reorganize health and social policies and to provide sufficient resources to meet the increasing need for informal care and to mitigate the impact and costs of caregiving on diverse aspects of women's lives.

ResumenLos servicios sociales y sanitarios participan de forma minoritaria en el cuidado continuado de las personas que lo necesitan, y la familia constituye la principal prestadora de cuidados en nuestro entorno. La atención informal a la salud plantea dos cuestiones relacionadas con la equidad: las cargas diferenciales del cuidado entre hombres y mujeres, que generan una desigualdad de género, y la inequidad en capacidad de elección y de acceso a recursos y servicios de ayuda según el nivel educativo y socioeconómico, que plantea una desigualdad de clase social. La distribución de la responsabilidad de cuidar entre hombres y mujeres y entre familia y estado constituye un debate crucial de la salud pública. En este trabajo se analiza el concepto y características del cuidado informal, se aportan datos sobre su magnitud en nuestro medio y se analiza el perfil de las personas cuidadoras, el trabajo que realizan y el impacto que supone en sus vidas. Finalmente, se plantean modelos y estrategias de apoyo a cuidadores/as existentes en la actualidad. Las mujeres asumen de forma mayoritaria el papel de cuidadoras principales, se responsabilizan de las tareas más pesadas y demandantes y dedican más tiempo a cuidar. El coste que asumen las mujeres en sus vidas por el hecho de ser cuidadoras es elevado en términos de salud, calidad de vida, acceso al empleo y desarrollo profesional, relaciones sociales, disponibilidad del propio tiempo y repercusiones económicas. Las mujeres de menor nivel educativo, sin empleo y de clases sociales menos privilegiadas configuran el gran colectivo de cuidadoras en nuestro país. Cualquier política de apoyo a cuidadores debería tener en cuenta esta desigual situación de partida y ser evaluada en términos de su impacto en desigualdad de género y clase social. Palabras clave: Cuidado informal. Cuidadores. Desigualdades de género. Desigualdades sociales. Apoyo social. AbstractIn our setting, it is families, not the health and social services, who play the greatest role in providing continuous care to persons in need of such services. Informal health care poses two key questions with regard to the issue of equity: differences in the burdens borne by men and women, which contribute to gender inequality and, depending on their educational and socio-economic level, inequities in their ability to choose and gain access to needed resources and support services, thus contributing to social class inequalities. Distributing the burden of caregiving between men and women, and between the family and the state, constitutes a crucial debate in public health. This study analyzes the concept and characteristics of informal care, provides data on its dimensions in our setting, and analyzes the profile of caregivers, as well as the work they do and the impact it has on their lives. Finally, it presents currently existing models and support strategies for informal caregivers. It is largely women who assume the principal role of providing informal care, undertaking the most difficult and demanding tasks and dedi...

This study analyses different perceptions by women and men, from different social backgrounds and ages, regarding their health, vulnerability and coping with illness, and describes the main models provided by both sexes to explain determinants for gender inequalities in health. The qualitative study involved in-depth interviews with women and men resident in Granada (Spain). The women rated their health worse than men, associating it with feelings of exhaustion. However, men tended to overrate their health, hiding their problems behind the 'tough guy' stereotype associated with masculinity. Both women and men shared the belief that women are more vulnerable, while men are weaker at coping with illness. The explanatory models offered for this paradox of 'weak but strong women' and 'tough but weak men' were different for each sex. Men used biological arguments more than women, centred on the female reproductive cycle. Women used more cultural models and identified determinants relating to social stratification, gender roles and power imbalances. In conclusion, gender constructions affect the health perceptions of both women and men at any social level or age. 'Exhausted' women and 'tough' men should form preferential target groups for intervention to reduce gender inequalities in health.

Increased fertility rates may transform the organization of productive and reproductive work and the development of health and social services, and may stimulate improvement in institutional support.