Mind the Gap: Health equity for older women and women with disabilities

My objective is to build on the work of my dissertation and conduct a targeted literature review focused on inequities in access to sexual and reproductive health care for women as they age.  My dissertation assessed inclusion of older women in the work of human rights mechanisms such as UN treaty bodies.  It illustrated that older women remain largely invisible to human rights actors, especially with respect to their sexual and reproductive health.  

I would like to build on that work and examine the barriers to realization of the right to health for older women particularly in national health policy.  I am also interested in understanding whether there is evidence of interventions that are inclusive and effective at improving women’s health outcomes and/or meeting the health needs of women of all ages and abilities.  

One objective for the project is to build a knowledge base for advocates and stakeholders to use as the international community begins negotiating the terms of a possible new human rights treaty on the rights of older persons.  Given that women make up the majority of the population of olde persons, it is essential but not assured that their interests are effectively recognized in the structure and terms of the treaty.