PainRelief.com:  Are female patients more likely to be perceived as drug-seeking or more likely to become addicted?

Response:  While reluctance to prescribe opioids could be influenced by the opioid epidemic (although it’s more common in family clinics than in emergency departments), our findings suggest that this is not the case here. Female patients were under-prescribed both opioids and non-opioids, which are not addictive. Even for severe pain, where guidelines recommend pain relief medications, women were less likely to receive them. Additionally, our findings regarding longer waiting times and less frequent recording of pain scores for female patients cannot be explained by a perception of women as drug-seeking.

PainRelief.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: Our research highlights a significant and systemic sex bias in pain management within emergency departments. Female patients consistently receive less pain treatment than males. This bias has severe implications and must be addressed. Since both male and female physicians exhibit the same bias, sex concordance does not appear to help. Therefore, we call for raising awareness and suggest implementing behavioral interventions to ensure equal pain treatment for all. 

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Citation:
Choshen-Hillel, Shoham, Sex bias in pain management decisions, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2401331121

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Last Updated on August 7, 2024 by PainRelief.com