Taking Сare of Family Members’ Health Provided by Women in Low-Resource Conditions

The article analyzes the practices of caring for the health of women from families with low socio-professional status. The study uses the analytical category of “care”, which is understood as a special type of household work aimed at maintaining and preserving one’s health and the health of family members. To analyze health practices, the concept of “health lifestyle”, developed in the sociology of medicine, is used. The empirical basis consists of 16 interviews conducted in St. Petersburg with women from families whose members do not have higher education and are employed in jobs with unfavorable working conditions (according to the informants). The study asked the question in what situations and how women belonging to this group take care of their health. Women with low socio-professional status, caring for loved ones, rarely seek medical help for themselves. Their attitude towards their own health can be described as instrumental. It was found that in the context of the experience of motherhood, the attitude towards health changes, it becomes more self-preserving, without losing its instrumentality, but in the interests of the child.

health care, health inequality, caring practices, limited resources