Hoffmann Christina, Schneider Tamara, Wannous Chadia, Nyberger Karolina, Haavardsson Ingeborg, Gilmore Brynne, Quigley Paula, Winkler Andrea S, Ludwig Sabine
Women in Global Health Germany, Charité Center for Global Health, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Department of Applied Health Sciences, University of Applied Sciences, Bochum, Germany.
Front Glob Womens Health. 2023 Feb 13;4:1009473. doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2023.1009473. eCollection 2023.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a deepening of existing inequalities and a rollback of achievements made in gender equality. Women in Global Health (WGH) is a global movement that aims to achieve gender equality in health and increase female leadership in global health. Here, the aim was to understand how the pandemic affects the private and professional lives of women working in global health in different European countries. Suggestions for future pandemic preparedness including how gender perspectives should be integrated into pandemic preparedness and how a women's network such as WGH helped them to overcome the impact of the pandemic were explored.
Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted in September 2020 with a sample size of nine highly educated women with a mean age of 42.1 years from the different WGH European chapters. The participants were informed of the study and were formally asked for their consent. The interviews were held in English an online videoconference platform and lasted 20-25 min each. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was conducted according to Mayring Qualitative Content Analysis using MAXQDA.
The pandemic has both positive and negative effects on the professional and private lives of women. It led to an increased workload and stress as well as pressure to publish on COVID-19-related themes. Increased childcare and household responsibilities represented a double burden. The available space was limited if other family members were also working from home. Positive aspects included more time for family or partners and reduced travel. The participants report on perceived gender differences in the experience of the pandemic. International cooperation is considered to be a key factor for future pandemic preparedness. Being part of a women's network such as WGH was perceived as being very supportive in difficult situations during the pandemic.
This study provides unique insights into the experiences of women working in global health in different European countries. The COVID-19 pandemic influences their professional and private lives. Perceived gender differences are reported and suggest the need for integrating gender perspectives in pandemic preparedness. Networks for women, such as WGH, can facilitate the exchange of information in crises and provide women with professional and personal support.
新冠疫情导致现有不平等现象加剧，性别平等方面取得的成果出现倒退。全球卫生领域女性组织（WGH）是一项全球行动，旨在实现卫生领域的性别平等，并增加女性在全球卫生领域的领导力。在此，研究目的是了解疫情如何影响不同欧洲国家从事全球卫生工作的女性的私人生活和职业生活。探讨了未来疫情防范的建议，包括如何将性别视角纳入疫情防范，以及像WGH这样的女性网络如何帮助她们克服疫情的影响。
2020年9月，对来自WGH欧洲不同分会的9名受过高等教育、平均年龄42.1岁的女性进行了定性半结构式访谈。向参与者介绍了该研究，并正式征求她们的同意。访谈在一个在线视频会议平台上用英语进行，每次持续20 - 25分钟。访谈进行了录音并逐字转录。根据梅林定性内容分析法，使用MAXQDA进行主题分析。
疫情对女性的职业生活和私人生活既有积极影响，也有消极影响。它导致工作量和压力增加，以及就新冠相关主题发表文章的压力。育儿和家务责任的增加带来了双重负担。如果其他家庭成员也在家工作，可用空间就会有限。积极方面包括有更多时间陪伴家人或伴侣以及减少出行。参与者报告了在疫情经历中察觉到的性别差异。国际合作被认为是未来疫情防范的关键因素。成为像WGH这样的女性网络的一员在疫情期间的困难情况下被认为非常有帮助。
本研究为不同欧洲国家从事全球卫生工作的女性的经历提供了独特见解。新冠疫情影响了她们的职业生活和私人生活。报告了察觉到的性别差异，表明需要将性别视角纳入疫情防范。像WGH这样的女性网络可以促进危机中的信息交流，并为女性提供专业和个人支持。
