There have been a handful of studies in recent years that prove, more than ever, that we’re living in a man’s world.
Crash-test dummies, medical treatments, the legal system – you name it, it was probably meant to deal with a man, not a woman.
Now, a study definitively shows that when women go to the emergency room, they wait longer and don’t get the pain management they need.
The research revealed what scientists are calling a “troubling and significant” bias in how medical personnel perceive a patient’s pain.
This goes hand-in-hand with studies that show how women are more likely to be diagnosed wrong or receive inappropriate treatment, given that a majority of medical research has been done on men.
The pharmaceutical industry, too, lags when testing drugs and their effects on the female body.
For this study, scientists from the US and Israel teamed up to study the medical records of 21,000 emergency room patients who required pain management for their ailments.
They found “notable” disparities in treatment, depending on whether the patient was male or female.
Women were 10% less likely than men to have a recorded pain score to assist staff in treating said pain, and also waited an average of 30 minutes longer, too.
In the end, women were also less likely to be prescribed painkillers.
Co-author Dr. Alex Gileles-Hillel gave a statement in Nature News.
“Women are viewed as exaggerating or hysterical and men are viewed as more stoic when they complain of pain.”
The trends exist whether or not the nurse and/or doctor treating the patient is female themselves, despite other studies that suggest female doctors and surgeons have better patient outcomes across the board.
The second part of the study involved 109 nurses using clinical vignettes, which are case studies used in training. It revealed the same inherent bias when it comes to assessing pain.
“Our research reveals a troubling bias in how women’s pain is perceived and treated in emergency care settings. This under-treatment of female patients’ pain could have serious implications for women’s health outcomes, potentially leading to longer recovery times, complications or chronic pain conditions.”
The authors hope their findings will lead to better and updated training for healthcare workers, in the hopes that they will confront their own biases.
That should be a first step, but more will likely be required
Anyone presenting with significant pain should be given proper care, regardless of their gender.
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