Gender Bias in Healthcare

DBy: June Liu ‘25 Opinions:

o the phrases “I’m sure it’s just your period” or “you’re just being hormonal” sound familiar? This phrasing is indicative of gender bias, defined as beliefs that place one gender in favor over others, and is especially common in healthcare diagnosis and treatment

Examples of this bias present themselves in how doctors prescribe medication, how scientific research approaches conditions or illnesses, discounting symptoms reported, and more A study in 2019 revealed that one in five women feel dismissed when speaking to a healthcare professional, and 17% feel they are treated differently, as opposed to 6% of men (1). This is not to say that doctors or nurses have ill intentions, but this bias, whether implicit or not, has to be addressed to advance equitable treatment for everyone.

Historically, dating back to ancient Egyptian and Greek medicine, healthcare professionals have dismissed any female sexual health problems or over-emotional conduct as “irregular” or “unwomanly”. In the 18th and 19th centuries, pain management for women was largely ignored, and many doctors denied women pain relief during childbirth, resulting in countless maternal deaths (2).

Even in the 21st century, many healthcare professionals dismiss female physical and emotional distress, often believing it to be an exaggeration or made up. A study in 2015 published in PLoS One (open access journal by the Public Library of Science) found that among 18,618 people diagnosed with cancer, females had to wait longer to be diagnosed after they displayed symptoms (3) More recently, a study in 2021 highlighted that doctors under-estimated female patients’ pain, and prescribed more psychotherapy for females and more pain medication for males (4). This phenomenon of misdiagnosing or not even giving a diagnosis is a grave issue that has far devastating consequences. Many patients whose concerns are dismissed start doubting themselves, and after that, the right treatment might be too late

This way, doctors are given a broader and more accurate database which they can make judgments from

As more and more people begin to realize the lack of attention or care they are given, researchers have begun to pinpoint a few reasons why this bias is perpetuated Firstly, there is a lack of knowledge and limited research trials about women's health. Traditionally, research trials involve male patients; therefore, many doctors use these findings as a standard against other genders. This results in a knowledge-informed bias (2), for example, overlooking symptoms in women as they are more common in men This bias also negatively affects male patients As an example, doctors often discount migraines, which are less common in men, so fewer male patients receive an accurate diagnosis. Secondly, there are the doctor’s own biases and beliefs. Someone who looks down on women will consequentially take her symptoms less seriously. Not only that, negative stereotypes and stigma reinforce these biases For example, a doctor who believes that a woman’s behavior is “irregular” will dismiss the severity of chronic pain and therefore won’t prescribe pain medication to women who need it. While that may sound dramatic, articles from many prominent news outlets such as the Washington Post and Medical News Daily have all covered stories regarding the consistent negligence women face due to doctors' or nurses' personal biases (6,7).

Thankfully, steps can be taken to address this Although it will be no easy feat, overcoming this bias will take a large-scale transformation to reform research methods and medical systems This begins with better medical training, and acknowledging various biases, resulting in a greater self-awareness when making diagnoses. Not only that, more research should be done among more diverse participants. .

Next time a doctor is being dismissive, try asking questions like “What else could these symptoms suggest?” and “Would you recommend this approach if a [certain gender] reported the same symptoms?” as suggested by Crystal Raypole, who works for Healthline and Psych Central (2) Many other professionals like her are working to reduce gender bias, and while slow, eventually medical diagnosis and treatment will be equitable for everyone.

Works Cited

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1 Raypole, C (2022, January 20) Gender Bias in Healthcare Is Very Real and Sometimes Fatal Healthline; Healthline Media

Paulsen, E (2020, January 14) Recognizing, Addressing Unintended Gender Bias in Patient Care Duke Health https://physiciansdukehealthorg/articles/recognizingaddressing-unintended-gender-bias-patientcare#: :text=One%20in%20five%20women%20say,of%20gender%20bias%20are%20cor rect https://wwwhealthlinecom/health/gender-bias-healthcare#examples

Nafees Ud Din Ukoumunne O C Rubin G Hamilton, W Carter B Stapley S & Neal

R D (2015) Age and Gender Variations in Cancer Diagnostic Intervals in 15 Cancers: Analysis of Data from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink PLOS ONE, 10(5), e0127717–e0127717

3 Zhang, L, Reynolds, E A, Ashar, Y K, Koban, L, & Wager, T D (2021) Gender Biases in Estimation of Others’ Pain The Journal of Pain, 22(9), 1048–1059 https://doiorg/101371/journalpone0127717

4 Seervai S (2019) Health Care Has a Bias Problem: Here’s How to Fix It Commonwealthfundorg https://doiorg/101016/jjpain202103001 https://doiorg/1026099/mz0g-e671

5 Villines Z (2021 October 25) What to know about gender bias in healthcare Medicalnewstodaycom Medical News Today https://wwwmedicalnewstodaycom/articles/gender-bias-inhealthcare#consequences

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6 Bever, L (2022, December 13) Women’s pain often is dismissed by doctors

Washington Post; The Washington Post https://wwwwashingtonpostcom/wellness/interactive/2022/women-pain-genderbias-doctors/