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- According to the official definition of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), “Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or described by, actual or potential tissue damage.”
- Therefore pain depends on the feelings of the patient, this makes it difficult to be determined and qualified.
According to a new study published in Pain journalWomen’s pain is not taken as seriously as that of men.
Women who are in pain are no longer treated with psychotherapy
Researchers observed that when men and women express the same intensity of pain, women’s pain is considered less intense due to gender stereotypes. Regrettably, men are seen as more resistant to pain, taking their grief more seriously when they express it.
Thus, women included in the cohort were more likely to be recommended for psychotherapy to treat their perceived imaginary pain, while men were more willingly referred to medication.
Gender bias reduces pain care effectiveness
“Sexist bias in pain assessment can become a hindrance to the effectiveness of care, and experimental approaches aimed at characterizing received ideas, such as the one we tested here, could lead to the development of anti-discrimination policies . “ On the women’s side, the team of Elizabeth Lousin, professor of psychology and director of the neuroscience lab at the University of Miami, concluded.
According to the white paper published by SFETD, more than 12 million French people suffer from chronic pain, or one in five French people. Pain is the number one cause in consultation with the general practitioner and in emergency services.
