Healthcare Decisions and Moms’ Leading Role
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, women make about 80 percent of family healthcare decisions in the United States. They decide which doctor to see, which insurance to choose, and which treatments to pursue. Women still take on the primary role of caregiver in families, even if they also hold a prominent position outside of the home.
Women have a leading role in the majority of families’ healthcare. Most caregivers are women, and mothers in particular are the primary healthcare decision makers for their children. Therefore, women need adequate knowledge and tools to satisfy their multiple roles as decision makers and consumers of healthcare.
U.S. Department of Labor – Employee Benefits Security Administration Fact Sheet
Healthcare Decisions and Moms’ Leading Role
At Sanford Behavioral Health, we know that women are also more likely to discuss preventive health topics with healthcare providers. Topics might include conversations about smoking cessation, disturbing eating behaviors, or misuse of drugs and alcohol. Women also take the information they receive back to the family to improve overall health within the family system. It follows that if women make the majority of the decisions about healthcare and are most interested in talking to providers about preventative medicine, they are also more watchful. In other words, women are looking for things that negatively impact the extended family and prepare a strategy to put the family back on track.
When a family member is misusing drugs or alcohol, it is often the matriarch who makes the call to Sanford. When they call to ask about treatment for themselves, an impediment to treatment includes concerns about who will manage the at-home tasks. One of the most important factors for women in making the correct healthcare decisions is having a strong relationship with a provider they trust. Trust is a key component when it comes to behavioral health treatment. No two families are alike, and a family program that considers each family’s unique background and makeup can directly target their needs and, in so doing, impact successful outcomes.
Mothers were significantly more likely than fathers to identify internalizing, externalizing, and substance use-related behaviors in their adolescent children.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) – TIP 39
Sanford Behavioral Health Addresses Women’s Concerns
It is time for treatment providers to address their primary influencers. Time to direct educational efforts toward female consumers, giving them the knowledge (and confidence) to make informed healthcare decisions. Sanford Founder Rae Green, JD, LPC, CAADC, says, “Moms usually know their children in painstaking detail and can often intuit things about their health and behavior that others do not notice. Mothers are frequently the key people in providing strategic oversight. When choosing the appropriate treatment, the advocate (mom) needs to know whether services can be accessed at a reasonable cost. It is fair to say most people are unfamiliar with the complexities of insurance policies, particularly in the area of behavioral health. Thus, it is incumbent on healthcare organizations and their admissions departments to light the way.”
- Understand that busy women need concise information on treatment options, provide written materials, updated information, and admissions staff who will take the time to discuss the myriad courses of action. At Sanford, our admissions team is available 24/7 for conversation or to start treatment.
- Provide information about mental health programs on social media or through testimonials and reviews. Women utilize word-of-mouth recommendations when tasked with making treatment recommendations.
- Address childcare options for women in treatment. Or provide outpatient/telehealth treatment that allows for at-home participation.
- Offer gender-related treatment electives. Understand that looking at an individual’s unique identity is the best way to prepare them for long-term recovery.
- Employ women in management, medical, and clinical positions within the treatment center.
- Provide ongoing family programs and work with all family members to help them define their new roles as they move forward.
- Appreciate that women will continue to take on the primary roles of housekeeping and childcare duties, while also making up 50% of the workforce.
Thanks to Moms!
Now is the time to say “thank you” to all the women out there, all the mothers who make the tough decisions regarding behavioral healthcare, who identify problems within the family (however it is defined), and seek solutions. It’s a big job with far-reaching positive outcomes.
