Feeling the pain

Women and men are treated differently when it comes to getting help for pain, a new study has found. Researchers discovered female patients wait longer to be seen in hospital and are less likely to be given painkillers than men. The study examined more than 20,000 discharge notes from patients who had attended hospital emergency departments in the US and Israel with non-specific pain complaints. 

Women waited an average of 30 minutes longer to be seen by a doctor and were 10% less likely to have a recorded pain score – a number from one to ten chosen by the patient to reflect the level of their pain. The difference in treatment was the same whether the medical professional take care of the patient was male or female. 

The study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and reported on the Nature website. Healthcare law researcher Diane Hoffmann told the website: “There aren’t objective measures for pain, so the physician has to rely on the reporting of the patient. That allows for bias.” 

The findings could help develop fairer treatment by raising awareness of potential bias in how male and female patients are seen. 

Find out more about the research on the Nature website.