Gender influence on health and risk behavior in primary prevention: a systematic review

Abstract

Aim Prevention plays a crucial part in healthcare systems and is greatly influenced by the health and risk behavior of the population. The extent to which special tailoring to the addressed subjects would be helpful in improving the effectiveness of prevention measures is unknown. Therefore, the goal of this systematic review is to assess gender-specific differences in primary prevention actions. Subject and Methods A systematic review was conducted in 2015 by searching the PubMed (Medline) and Cochrane Library databases as well as adding additional studies by crossreferencing. The search focused on studies with an analysis of gender differences in health and risk behavior concerning primary prevention. Therefore, major exclusion criteria were singlegender studies, underage (<18 years) study collectives and secondary or tertiary prevention measures. Results In total, 23 studies from 13 different countries were included in the qualitative evaluation. The studies covered 11 different subtopics of primary prevention, but were too diverse in content and type to draw many fundamental conclusions. A meta-analysis was not possible. Generally a tendency for females to be more health-conscious and engaged in preventive behavior could be seen in most subgroups. Conclusion The importance of gender-specific prevention measures for the healthcare system is being increasingly stressed, but only a few studies specifically analyzing the influence of gender on preventive behavior could be identified. To implement appropriate primary prevention measures tailored to gender-specific needs, more details and studies on gender differences are needed.

<p>Evaluating the effectiveness of the “Germ-Free Hands” intervention for improving the hand hygiene practices of public health students</p>

“…Our findings also provide limited support for the TPB,25 since participant behavioral and control beliefs, subjective norms, and intentions changed after the intervention along with actual handwashing behaviors (although no post-intervention changes were seen in normative beliefs, attitudes, or PBC). These findings are consistent with those of other research that has shown that handwashing practices are influenced by beliefs27 and subjective norms 27,28,30. The corresponding increases in handwashing knowledge and practice in this study are also in line with previous findings that knowledge predicts healthcare providers’ hand hygiene behaviors 4,6,34…”

“…There were large differences between self-reported and observed handwashing rates for the intervention group at all three assessments—a problem that has also been noted by other hand hygiene intervention researchers 27,43,4. Our participants had much higher self-reported (61%) than observed (18%) rates of handwashing at baseline and much smaller improvements in self-reported handwashing (7.5% increase) than observed practice (75% increase) at the immediate post-intervention assessment.…”

Analysis of Gender-Dependent Personal Protective Behaviors in a National Sample: Polish Adolescents’ COVID-19 Experience (PLACE-19) Study

“…In a number of studies, it is reported that female respondents display better hand hygiene behaviors than males, independent of the studied group, as women are more likely than men to wash their hands, wash both hands, wash hands properly, and wash hands more often [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. Similarly, in a systematic review analyzing the influence of gender on the health risk behaviors, it was indicated that handwashing behavior is included in the everyday hygienic behaviors mainly in the case of women [ 69 ]. Moreover, a significantly higher share of women than men practice proper hand hygiene behaviors when being observed by others, or in the presence of a sign reminding them to do it [ 70 ].…”

Masks, Gloves, and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Rapid Assessment of Public Behaviors in the United States

“…Similarly, in polls nationwide, younger individuals (≤36 years of age) are less likely to report wearing masks and gloves and perceive fewer benefits of such protective practices [2,[9][10][11]14]. This is a peculiar behavioral pattern, as even before the pandemic, males and younger individuals in the U.S. were more likely to engage in riskier behaviors such as drug use and violence and less likely to practice general hygienic behaviors such as handwashing [15][16][17]. Unfortunately, according to preliminary reports, men have a higher risk of mortality from COVID-19, and deaths of younger individuals are not uncommon [17,18].…”