The gap in pain management care for women has been well documented, with many studies suggesting there is a big difference between pain management for men and women, often resulting in women being misdiagnosed or completely ignored.
According to research, 70% of chronic pain sufferers are female, and yet 80% of pain studies are conducted on males (mice and humans).
It is important to break down these studies to understand how to close this gap. This post discusses three studies that highlight doctors not taking women’s pain seriously and what this means for women seeking reliable healthcare services.
The Gender Pain Gap: Studies on Women’s Health
For a whole range of health-related issues, concerns, practices and procedures, women’s pain is often dismissed by doctors, but what studies support this gender bias in medicine? Let’s take a look at some of the evidence.
Study #1: Women’s Experiences of Seeking Healthcare for Abdominal Pain in Ireland
In this 2024 study, evidence suggests that women’s abdominal pain is more likely to be minimised by healthcare professionals than men’s, and this has a detrimental impact on health-related outcomes and quality of life.
For this study, 14 women living in Ireland trying to seek healthcare for abdominal pain took part in one-to-one semi-structured interviews to explore their experiences.
The conclusions? Participants described having mostly negative experiences when seeking support for abdominal pain. Their experiences reinforced the participants’ views that self-advocacy is essential to accessing care, as many experienced dismissal of their symptoms and internalised normative views of women’s pain as less worthy of care.
Study #2: The Gender Pain Gap: Gender Inequalities in Pain Across 19 European Countries
This 2022 study highlights how chronic pain is increasingly considered to be an international public health issue, and yet gender differences in chronic pain continue to be under-researched.
Data for 27,552 participants aged 25 – 74 in 19 European countries were taken from the European Social Survey (2014), and inequalities in reporting pain were measured.
A greater proportion of women (62.3%) reported pain than men (55.5%), with the greatest inequalities being for neck and back pain. The study concluded that there are significant inequalities between the pain experienced by men and women in Europe.
Study #3: Sex Inequalities in Medical Research
This research states how historically medical studies have excluded female participants and research data has been collected from males and generalised to apply to females. This gender gap in research has resulted in real-life disadvantages towards female patients.
Literature searches were conducted using PubMed, Science Direct, PsychINFO and Google Scholar, with articles published between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2019, included. Articles were assessed for displays of misogyny.
From the 17 included articles, 12 examined the gender gap in medical research and five demonstrated misogyny. In conclusion, the gender pain gap and misogynistic studies are still present in contemporary medical literature.
How The Healthcare System Can Improve
Let’s look at some of the ways the healthcare system can improve the gender pain gap and help women get the support they need, when they need it:
Education and Training
Healthcare systems can implement education and training for healthcare professionals on the gender pain gap and its implications for patient care, as well as clear referral pathways for women presenting with pain.
More Research
Because of a historical lack of research into women’s pain, there is still a lot we don’t know. More research is needed, for example, surveys for research can be conducted so women can share their health conditions and care experiences.
Speciality Services
Expanding women’s health clinics to enable women to receive services or advice on issues from contraception to pelvic pain, supporting women, girls, and gender-diverse people.
Funding
Government investing in women’s health issues to deliver expert advice such as improving health outcomes, reducing gender gap disparities, improving research, and strengthening the quality of care.
Similarly, grants can be offered to women’s health organisations to establish support groups for women living with health conditions.
Close the Gender Pain Gap
Improving women’s healthcare is about setting a new standard for comprehensive, accessible, high-quality services; if we commit to understanding and dedicating resources to women’s pain, inclusive care is possible.
It is important to guide reforms that support an integrated and equitable health system. Health services across the globe need to work together to deliver improved care and better health outcomes across the life course of all women. In practice, those in leadership roles, equipped with an online DNP program or similar qualification, can start by taking women’s pain seriously, and encouraging their teams to do the same.
The unfortunate reality is that many women across the globe do not have their pain taken seriously, despite more women than men suffering from chronic pain. There is a long way to go, but with the combined efforts of listening to women, ongoing research, and systemic change in healthcare settings, we can achieve equality in healthcare for all.
Photo by Sora Shimazaki via Pexels.