Younger women suffer more health problems than older women and are less likely to treat them, according to a national study. The survey, "Women, Health & Self Medication" was conducted by Mark Clements Research, Inc., in the spring of 1987 for Self magazine in an effort to understand the health care attitude and behavior of women 18-65.

Self, a Conde Nast publication with 2.7 million readers, conducted the study to find out what women's attitudes were toward their health, health care and self medication. The survey was conducted by mail and had more than an 83% completion rate. The findings revealed that women 18-34 reported more health problems than older women and also had higher incidences of the respondents' 20 most common health problems. These include headaches, backaches, stomachaches, colds, sore throats, diarrhea and menstrual pains.

The number of reported health problems actually decreased with age, with women 50-65 reporting the lowest incidence of health problems over the last year. Younger women's most frequent health problems fell into four areas: aches and pains of an active life, viral symptoms, reproductive system complaints and skin and hair problems. Older women were more likely to report digestive upsets, stress-related symptoms and systemic disorders accompanying maturation.

Primary market

"The Self magazine survey on 'Women, Health and Self-Medication' reveals that manufacturers have seriously underestimated young women as a market for over-the-counter medicines," says Marianne Howatson, publisher of Self. "As it turns out, young women are the primary market for these products."

The survey also found a "treatment gap" between the number of younger women who suffer symptoms and those who buy the appropriate over-the-counter products. The symptoms are gastrointestinal upsets, viral and menstrual symptoms and hair and skin problems. Their use of health and personal care products is higher for only 46% of the products surveyed. In essence, women are suffering from a great deal of discomfort from problems and symptoms for which there are a number of specifically formulated, readily available products.

Why is there a gap between symptoms and relief in younger women? While younger women plainly want to assert and maintain control over their own health care, they ignore some of the personal health care options available to them. "Younger women have a very positive attitude about over-the-counter products, that they're safe and effective and getting rid of discomfort is an important thing," says Howatson. "But companies for these products are not reaching them in a language or a message that relates to them, their lifestyles and their needs. The message is not being delivered to them in a way they can relate to or in a medium they use."

Immediate benefits

Howatson believes most of the messages are being delivered on television, yet the majority of younger women are working full-time outside the home and thus aren't watching TV. Those typically watching are older women.

Moreover, the product benefits to be stressed should be here-and-now, such as meeting the demands of an active life, feeling better quickly, being your own doctor because you know yourself better than anyone else can and taking control of your health. Younger women are not as interested in future benefits or as concerned with preventive care as are older women. They want immediate benefits.

Added-benefit products seem to be of interest to younger women as well. They seem to respond to preventive care products such as tartar-control toothpaste or mouthwash because they promise future benefits with no additional effort and deliver immediate benefits as well, i.e., they clean your teeth or breath now and promise to keep your teeth tartar-free in the future for the same amount of effort as brushing with a regular toothpaste. Younger women aren't as interested in products or advertising messages that emphasize sickness, ill health or disability.

Instead, they're interested in products that restore health and functioning and messages that stress feeling well and functioning well. Theirs is a generally optimistic life stage and good health is the norm. They want better health, better functioning and more control over their health care. At this time they're simply not interested in focusing on the negative side. Other findings from the survey show:

  • Of the products that younger women use more often than older women, cosmetic products stand out, i.e., lip balm (49% vs. 35%), contact lens cleaner (24% vs. 12%), medicated dandruff products (15% vs. 12%) and acne preparations (12% vs. 4%).
  • Women under 35 are less interested in generic brands than older women, but are more interested in buying at lower or discounted prices; 27% of younger women "look for what's on sale" vs. 23% of older women.
  • Older women are more likely to read magazine advertisements for drugs, to want more articles on drugs and remedies, and to "keep up" with new developments (58% of older women vs. 48% of women under 35). However, younger women are less judgmental about the advertisements and are less likely to find the ads confusing (55% vs. 48%) or patronizing to women (63% vs. 74%).

The figures suggest that younger women may show less interest in ads because they're not specifically targeted to them, their lifestyles and their needs.

  • The high incidence of health problems in younger women was not attributable to stress. Women 35-49 had the most stress-related symptoms, apparently relating to such circumstances as being divorced or separated, having less money, less education and working at lower-status occupations.
  • More than half of all the women surveyed believed that doctors have become too impersonal and rushed. Almost 80% felt that doctor visits have become too expensive, yet 86% still had a great deal of respect for their doctors. However, more than half the women said they were apprehensive before visiting doctors and dentists. Regardless of age, nearly one in five women avoid the dentist out of fear. While younger women seem to have a good deal of faith in medical technology, they we also concerned about the personal and financial cost of technological advances.
  • In spite of their ambivalence and stated tendency to self-medicate, younger women overall tend to safeguard their health by regular checkups (48%) and yearly physicals (37%).
  • While younger women safeguard their health by using medical care, they are less likely to use other preventive measures such as changing their diets (only 33% are trying to eat healthier food), or undertaking a program of regular exercise (28%). Instead, 72% "agree strongly" that "your mental attitude affects your physical well-being."

Howatson says Self has just begun giving presentations on the study's highlights. "What these marketers are finding interesting is the attitudes of younger women and the kind of message they need to get out to them, especially because their marketing is targeted to older women. The study is causing a lot of discussion."

Value of print media

The survey shows a number of opportunities for product developing and marketing and underlines the unique role print media can play in that marketing effort. Print media offers the best opportunity for delivering technical information. Its visual and editorial environment is ideal for delivering health care information to support product marketing.