This paper discusses barriers to the provision of high quality care from the perspectives of the health system and female clients, and interventions that have been developed to overcome these barriers. These interventions are in the area of reproductive health, where most attention to women's health has focused; they consist mainly of assessment tools that can be used by peripheral health workers and rural women themselves. The paper argues that in nonreproductive health generally, there is a dearth of information on the biological and social determinants and consequences of infection and disease from a gender perspective. Recommendations are made for further research on quality of care and for practical interventions with application to women's health, both within and outside the reproductive context.
PIP: This paper considers problems of definition, measurement, and management of quality health care for women as well as barriers to quality of care, including information, access, and use barriers. It then describes a number of interventions supported by the World Health Organization designed to improve the quality of care provided and women's access to and use of health services. Interventions need to take into account the perspectives of both health workers and women, as well as the constraints they face in providing and receiving services, respectively. The authors broadly focus upon women's health, considering reproduction as well as other health concerns such as tropical diseases endemic to developing countries. They argue that in nonreproductive health, there is a general lack of information upon the biological and social determinants and consequences of infection and disease from a gender perspective. Recommendations are made for further research into the quality of care and for practical interventions with application to women's health, both within and outside of the reproductive context.