Gender Pain Gap: Women’s Chronic Pain Dismissed, Delaying Treatment and Diagnosis
When women experience chronic pain and seek medical help, they often find that their concerns are dismissed or not taken seriously. This dismissal of women’s pain leads to delayed treatment, misdiagnosis, and unnecessary suffering. The gender pain gap is a pervasive issue that affects women across different countries, including the UK, North America, Australia, and Europe.
Studies have shown that women are less likely to have positive treatment outcomes for chronic conditions such as angina and musculoskeletal pain compared to men. For example, physicians are more likely to recommend knee replacements for men than for women with the same knee injury. This disparity in quality care also resulted in preventable deaths due to heart attacks in England and Wales.
The gender pain gap not only affects adults but also children and young people. Research indicates that young women are more likely to have their pain dismissed by healthcare professionals than young men. Furthermore, black women often face even worse treatment outcomes and have their pain dismissed more frequently compared to white women. Unfortunately, there is also limited research on pain treatment for gender diverse, transgender, non-binary, and intersex patients, further exacerbating the inequality in accessing treatment.
One of the key reasons for underestimating women’s pain is the prevalence of gender stereotypes, which affect even healthcare professionals. Men are often seen as stoic and less likely to seek care for pain, leading healthcare providers to believe them more readily. On the other hand, women, often perceived as emotionally expressive, may have their pain viewed as natural and normal, often resulting in less serious consideration by practitioners. This has been evident in studies where healthcare professionals underestimated women’s pain and even suggested psychotherapy as a solution, whereas they prescribed sedatives for male patients.
Historically, women have been underrepresented in medical research and clinical trials, which has impacted practitioners’ knowledge about women’s pain and health concerns. Compulsory training in women’s health for new General Practitioners in the UK will only be in effect from 2024. Lack of research and funding for conditions such as migraines and endometriosis, which disproportionately affect women, contributes to the gender pain gap.
If women want to ensure their pain is taken seriously and receive the right care, there are steps they can take. When discussing pain with healthcare providers, it may be effective to describe how pain affects daily function rather than rating it on a scale. Additionally, tracking pain and related symptoms using apps or diaries and bringing them to consultations can be helpful. Women can also address bias in pain care and ask practitioners to explain their diagnostic decision-making and why they haven’t made a referral for specialist care.
It is crucial to address inadequate funding for conditions that primarily affect women and improve training for healthcare providers to bridge the gender pain gap. Increased awareness of the issue is necessary to ensure that women in pain are no longer dismissed or left without proper treatment and support.
