Gender and Health in Higher Education: A Study of Undergraduates from University of Mauritius

Abstract

This paper explores health among men and women from the undergraduates at the University of Mauritius. A representative sample of 250 undergraduates was selected from the register of the University of Mauritius using stratified random sampling strategy to carry out Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVAs) which demonstrated significant differences between men and women from the study group. The study found that women reported more physical and mental health problems as compared to men. In addition, there were significant differences between men and women in terms of awareness about sexual health risks which were mainly related to promiscuity and the use of condoms. Moreover, there were significant differences between men and women in terms of consumption of alcohol and cigarettes, as well as participation in sports activities. Finally, it was found that more men reported about facing barriers such as money and location with regards to access to health care services. This paper therefore concludes that gender could explain most of the significant differences in terms of health among the undergraduates at the University of Mauritius.