Local female politicians are demanding improvement of the health and well-being of Bloomington women in light of a report released in October. \nJillian Kinzie, the chair of the Bloomington Commission on the Status of Women, and city council member at-large Susan Sandberg said the report should raise awareness about women’s health issues. Both politicians said low economic status and poor education are the major obstacles in obtaining better health care for Monroe County women.\n“It’s an uphill battle,” Sandberg said. “The statistics don’t look good. Needless to say, here in Bloomington, we are progressive-minded.”
Economic issues\nAccording to the report, 14 percent of Monroe County respondents said they needed medical care within the last 12 months, but were unable to seek it due to expenses. In the entire state, 15.7 percent of women said they experienced this situation, while 10.2 percent of men said they had, according to the report. \nBoth Sandberg and Kinzie agreed poverty is a major concern when addressing the health of Bloomington women. They said raising the living wage in Bloomington and the expectations of insurance companies would assist women seeking better medical care.\n“There’s a real difference in access to care, based on socio-economic status,” Kinzie said.\nThe report also points to wage inequity between men and women. Aside from covering basic medical bills, the report states that women experiencing\n poverty typically go uninsured.\nEven if they can get coverage, Kinzie said finding insurance that fully meets women’s needs is a problem. \nIndiana only requires insurance companies to cover breast cancer screening, according to the report. But Kinzie said, in an effort to save money, the state does not require insurance companies to cover cervical cancer or osteoporosis screening.\n“A lack of care only creates more costly problems later,” Kinzie said.\nIn addition, women often put the health of aging parents and children before their own, Kinzie said. And Sandberg emphasized that women who are impoverished will choose to pay rent and buy food and clothing for their families, but will often forego medical attention.\n“Women will put their own health on the backburner,” Kinzie said. “That’s a barrier to women’s own well-being.”
Physical education \nThe report calls for an expansion of physical education in Bloomington, which currently requires high school students to complete one credit of PE to graduate. The report recommends extending the length of the requirement and enhancing physical after-school activities for girls and young women.\nKinzie said after-school programs, such as Girls, Inc., are starting grounds for that expansion. The groups, she said, are “really about promoting girls’ development in positive, healthy ways.”\nHopefully education of the youth would transfer to actions of adults, Kinzie said. According to the report, 29.3 percent of Bloomington female respondents said they had no physical activity in the past month.
Cutting down on smoking\nEducation should also affect cultural behaviors, Kinzie said. \nSmoking, which Bloomington has recently tried to curb by implementing a ban, still plagues women. Educating women on the effects of smoking would improve the health conditions of Bloomington’s women and its children, Kinzie said. \nAccording to a report in 2002, 16.3 percent of Bloomington women smoked through their pregnancy.\nThe report suggests the high rate of smokers might also contribute to the high rate of female deaths due to cancer, which was the leading cause of death in 2002. But Kinzie said this could also be due to environmental factors or women coming to Bloomington to seek cancer treatment.
Solutions\nKinzie and Sandberg said that while the state can do a lot to help women, women also need to learn to help themselves. \nSandberg said strides, such as the awareness the report generates, are being made in Bloomington. But she said women should turn out to vote and elect other women so their viewpoints can be better represented.\n“Decisions are being made that hurt us,” Sandberg said. “When women don’t do well, the whole community doesn’t do well.”
