A recent study highlights a consistent gender disparity in pain management, revealing that women are less likely than men to be prescribed pain-relief medications. The findings, published on August 5 in *PNAS*, suggest that this bias persists even when accounting for various patient and clinical factors.
Researchers, led by Mika Guzikevits from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, analyzed data from two emergency department datasets from different countries, encompassing 21,851 patients who sought treatment for pain-related issues. The study uncovered a clear pattern: women were consistently prescribed fewer pain-relief medications compared to men, despite reporting similar pain levels.
This disparity persisted even after adjusting for variables such as patient-reported pain scores, as well as patient, physician, and emergency department characteristics. The bias was observed across both male and female physicians, indicating that it was not limited to practitioners of a specific gender.
Further analysis revealed additional concerning trends. Nurses were 10% less likely to record pain scores for female patients, and women spent an average of 30 minutes longer in the emergency department compared to men. The study also included a controlled experiment using clinical vignettes, in which 109 nurses consistently rated female patients' pain as lower than that of male patients.
"The findings add to the growing body of evidence pointing to discrimination against women in the medical system and other sectors," the study authors noted. "The undertreatment of pain in female patients has immediate implications for the healthcare system and broader consequences for how society perceives and addresses female pain."
Note: Orginally published by https://www.empr.com/
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