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The purpose of this study is to identify and rank the enablers that promote female empowerment in the health-care sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This study uses the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to rank the enablers that promote female empowerment in the health-care sector. The AHP model was developed with 7 criteria and 28 sub-criteria based on previous literature. Data were collected through interviews of 24 female Emirati medical professionals. The respondents were selected from UAE-based public and private health-care units. The data collected were interpreted, and a priority vector was assigned to each criterion and sub-criterion.

It is observed that organizational human resource policies, organizational culture and institutional factors take top priority under the main enablers, and training and development, ethical environment and institutional and legal systems were determined to be the three most important sub-enablers that promote female empowerment in the UAE health-care sector.

The major limitation of this study is that it is conducted only in the UAE. Similar studies should be carried out in other GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries due to the governmental and cultural homogeneity. The study will help policymakers and health-care organizations in the GCC to adopt the best approaches that transform work cultures and realize the potential of investing in female and their contribution to the national economy.

Female empowerment has been a challenging task for the mainstream literature of gender advancement. This study is the first of its kind to propose an AHP model that ranks the enablers that promote female empowerment in the UAE health-care sector.

This paper aims to describe the unique health challenges facing female commercial sex workers (FSWs), including issues related to their marginalisation and difficulty accessing health care. It proposes solutions to some of these problems.

This paper addresses this sensitive subject through the methodology of a literature review, drawing on a variety of relevant published literature to inform a modern understanding of the current health challenges faced by this population.

This paper discusses issues around criminalisation of commercial sex workers, complexities of family planning, sexually transmitted infection prevention, mental health and substance abuse and how increasing health-care worker awareness of the health needs of this vulnerable population can be a positive step in building trust within this relationship. Although adoption of the proposed recommendations put forth in this paper may help to eliminate some of the barriers encountered by female sex workers, further research is recommended.

The subject of commercial sex worker health care is neglected in the academic literature. This review explores the topic in an open and balanced manner and presents a broad and updated overview of the current health-care challenges faced by FSWs as well as opportunities for optimising access and quality of sex worker health care.

Incarcerated women have a disproportionate burden of infectious and chronic disease, in addition to substance use disorder and mental health illness, when compared to the general population (Binswanger et al., 2009; Fazel et al., 2006; Fuentes, 2013; Kouyoumdjian et al., 2012). Women often enter the correctional system in poor health, making incarceration an opportunity to address health issues. The purpose of this paper is to explore the barriers to accessing health services that female inmates face during incarceration, the consequences to their health, and implications for correctional health services delivery.

Focus groups were conducted in Canadian correctional center with female inmates. Focus groups explored women’s experiences with accessing health services while incarcerated; the impact of access to health services on health during incarceration and in the community; and recommendations for improving access to health services. Thematic analysis was completed using N-vivo 10.

The women described multiple barriers to accessing health services that resulted in negative consequences to their health: treatment interruption; health disempowerment; poor mental and physical health; and recidivism into addiction and crime upon release. Women made three important recommendations for correctional health service delivery: provision of comprehensive health entry and exit assessments; improvement of health literacy; and establishment of health support networks. The recommendations were organized into an “Accessing Health Services Resource Manual” for incarcerated women.

There is a paucity of existing literature examining provision of health services for female inmates. These findings have relevancy for correctional and community health care providers and organizations that provide health services for this vulnerable population.

Reproductive health is critically important for women and yet minority women in Canada are less likely to use preventive health care services. The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of the health behaviours of this minority population and, in particular, identify barriers to accessing reproductive health care services.

This study qualitatively analysed data from focus group discussions with 22 Muslim immigrant women in Ottawa, Canada.

The theme of modesty emerged as one of the main barriers in the health seeking behaviour of Muslim immigrant women when it comes to reproductive health and, therefore, the gender of the physician was very important. Focus group participants also discussed a preference for family physicians from the same ethnic and cultural background. Adaptation, or the need to be flexible if there was no alternative to a male doctor, emerged as a theme throughout the focus groups. Emergencies were frequently cited as a reason to adapt.

The findings reveal that while religious rules do play a predominant role in the health behaviour of Muslim immigrant women, communication by health care providers, government and health agencies can offer strategies to increase the uptake of preventive reproductive care.

This study offers unique insights into the very personal experience of reproductive health care through rich, qualitative data. Given the impact of culture and religion on perceptions and practices, in particular related to reproductive health, this study contributes to more effective communication strategies with Muslim women.

According to estimates, there are approximately 714,000 female prisoners in the world. A considerable proportion are pregnant, of childbearing age at the time of incarceration and may experience numerous reproductive health concerns. The purpose of this study is to examine the demographics and sexual and reproductive history of female prisoners in Iran.

Four hundred and thirty-four female prisoners (mean age: 39.0 ± 9.9) serving sentences at Qarchak prison, Iran, completed a questionnaire. The participants were recruited between October 2017 and September 2018 using a convenient sampling method. The questionnaire captured sociodemographic characteristics and sexual and reproductive history.

Most respondents had 7–12 years of formal education, were housewives (69.9%), were either married (41.6%) or divorced (41.8%) and were literate (91.3%). History of drug use among the respondents was 34.7%. Most respondents had regular menstruation (63.5%) and were pre-menopausal (86.1%). Natural birth control was preferred (39.7%) compared to other methods, such as condoms (18%) and oral contraceptive pills (8.4%). Spontaneous and induced abortions were reported by 17.8% and 16.4% of respondents, respectively. There was 5.9% of respondents that reported having a history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) before incarceration, with HPV the most common (12.7%).

This study has limitations, including the problem of following up with prisoners to shorten the average length of their imprisonment, which can leave many issues in the field of women’s health and their follow-up incomplete. Prison health care workers should also follow up on women’s health and pregnancy hygiene after their release because there is usually a high prevalence of STIs in prisoners.

The findings highlight the importance of improving the quality of women’s health care and pregnancy-related care in prisons. Additionally, the importance of having a health protocol for incarcerated women in Iran. Other programs should also be implemented for women prisoners to eliminate the discrimination they may face in prison.

The international community has attempted to develop care guidelines for pregnant prisoners, particularly for prenatal and mental health services. However, currently in Iran no such guidelines have been developed. To date no research has explored the sexual health among female prisoners of this country. The aim of the present study was to examine the demographics and sexual and reproductive history of female prisoners in Iran. A secondary aim was to identify the health care needs of female prisoners in Iran.

This study examines female inmates’ utilisation of and satisfaction with provision of health services, based on data from the 1996 New South Wales (Australia) Inmate Health Survey. Particular variables – indigenous status, mean age, age range, and education level – were analysed for factors associated with satisfaction with provision of health services. Further analysis indicated that for nine outcomes, correctional centre location was the only statistically significant indicator of satisfaction with various aspects of health‐care provision. Three factors – correctional centre location, indigenous status, and age group – were associated with being satisfied with health care received during a woman’s last prison doctor consultation. This study’s most important finding – that correctional centre location was associated with inmates’ satisfaction with health care services in gaol – has implications for governments regarding physical access to health services, and for ensuring services meet inmates’ needs at each correctional centre location.

This study aims to identify and explore experiences, perspectives, barriers and enablers to women’s career progression to management positions in the health-care sector and to assess women’s and men’s perceptions of the policies and practices of the health-care system concerning gender equality and nondiscrimination between women and men.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among health-care professionals in ten selected hospitals, including physicians, registered nurses/midwives and pharmacists with or without managerial positions.

This study included a total of 2,082 female and 1,100 male health-care professionals. Overall, 70% of women and men reported that opportunities for advancement are based on knowledge and skills in their institution. However, 58.9% of women (p < 0.001) reported that women are more likely to face barriers to career advancement than men do in their workplace. Lack of women in general/line management and discrimination against women by supervisors at the point of promotion were the main barriers to women's career progression, as they were reported by two-thirds of women. The main barrier, as perceived by men (62.3%) was that women have family and domestic responsibilities.

To overcome barriers in women's career progression, there is a need to establish a career planning and capacity-building program for women in the health sector.

Jordanian female health-care professionals face different barriers that affect their career progression, including inequity and discrimination in the workplace, negative views about women’s abilities, lack of qualifications and training, hostile cultural beliefs and family responsibilities.

The purpose of this paper is to report on gender differences in emergency physicians with respect to their attitudes, knowledge, and practices concerning health promotion and disease prevention.

A mail survey of 325 male and 97 female Canadian emergency physicians.

Results suggest female emergency physicians report having greater knowledge of health promotion topics, spend more time with each of their patients in the emergency setting, and engage in more health promotion counseling in the emergency setting than do their male counterparts.

The paper argues that in the future, educating and socializing emergency physicians, both male and female, in the practice of health promotion will enhance the potential of the emergency department to be a more effective resource for their community.

This chapter examines the relationship between health service restructuring and the health care experiences of women from rural and remote areas of Canada. Data were collected from 34 focus groups (237 women), 15 telephone interviews and 346 responses from an online survey. Access to services, care quality and satisfaction are salient themes in these data. Problems include: travel, shortage of providers, turnover in personnel, delays associated in accessing care, lack of knowledge of women's health issues and patronizing attitudes of some health care providers. Health care service restructuring has led to deterioration in service availability and quality. Key areas for policy development need to address health care access and quality improvement issues, including increasing access to more (particularly female) providers who are sensitive to women's health issues.

This article aims to look first at how entrepreneurial identity fits into the picture we currently have of social and health care professionals who most often work in paid employment in the public sector, and second, how entrepreneurial identity is constructed. We discuss whether professional identity and entrepreneurial identity can be separated, and how meaningful that question is. Is the role of entrepreneurship limited in the context of health and social care professional services, or can we see the emergence of a new kind of entrepreneurial identity with special features related to the complexity within the provision of services in social and health care?

The materials from two previous studies by the authors are used in the article as empirical data to investigate the questions of identity and professionalism. The methodology is based on re‐reading and re‐interpretation of both empirical studies and theoretical literature.

There are differences and different logics of work‐related identity building among the entrepreneurial groups and among professional groups. Despite this and even if part of the research tradition emphasizes this difference and the separateness of these identities, we argue that identities are fluid, changing, layered and overlapping. As identities cannot be predetermined or classified according to economic earnings logic only, but that they are malleable, evolving, interconnected, and intertwined. In addition, the paper raises the contradiction of stereotypically “masculine” entrepreneurial goals and the stereotypically “female” ideology of care existing as tension within entrepreneurship in social and health care.

The research limitations relate to the research design of not using ethnographical data.

The article has no direct practical implications. The results might have relevance to education.

The article has social implications in the ways the identities are discussed through various discourses in the societies.

The article has both originality in the settings and value in bringing different discussions together, as well as in its ability to widen the theoretical discussions and empirical studies on identities, paid employment and entrepreneurship.