Women’s Health: The Epidemic of Gender Bias in Healthcare
By Miah Lynch
Women’s health issues being ignored by the health industry is not a new phenomenon. The recent discovery of a 16th century medical textbook with a triangle shaped cut-out where the female genitals would be sparked online debates about whether things like this caused delays in the development of research on female anatomy. Regardless, it seems not much has changed since the 16th century when we look at the stories and figures emerging from women across the UK on misdiagnoses, unacceptable wait times and general disregard for women’s pain.
Image by: St John's College, University of Cambridge/PA
According to a 2022 article from Endometriosis UK, “22% of those with endometriosis who had gynaecology appointments cancelled or postponed during the pandemic are still waiting, and many have been forced to seek private care”. Even more concerning are the figures from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which report that “the number of women waiting over a year for care in England has increased from 66 before the pandemic to nearly 25,000”. Yes. You read that right. 66 to 25,000. Gynaecology waiting lists across the whole UK have soared in recent years, with around a 60% increase compared to pre-pandemic levels.
In addition to this, the House of Lords Library reported back in 2021 that the UK has the largest female health gap in the G20 and the 12th largest gap globally. In research conducted by Slater and Gordon this year on gender bias in healthcare, they found that “44% of women feel ignored by medical professionals compared to 35% of men”. Another article published in 2022 stated that 84% of women felt that there had been times when healthcare professionals did not listen to them. Furthermore, almost half of the women in this study reported that they don’t feel confident enough to challenge a GP regarding a potential misdiagnosis. This alone is worrying, however when coupled with the aforementioned figures, this could potentially turn a benign health problem into a matter of life or death.
Just one example of this was last year when a 27-year-old woman named Porsche McGregor-Sims died of cervical cancer which her doctors misdiagnosed as IBS.
This bias goes beyond just our experiences with the NHS. There is bias even in medical trials and labs. For example, female mice are highly underrepresented in various aspects of biological research. This was because scientists had been operating under the assumption that females are intrinsically more valuable than males. However, as experiments from the ‘National Library of Medicine’ found that female rats were not more variable than male rats, even during their estrous cycle. Regardless of your opinions on animal testing, this is important to draw attention to, as according to ‘Understanding Animal Research’, the overrepresentation of male animals in experiments can lead to women taking drugs and dosages which are inappropriate. But far more damaging, this practice can also women suffering unexpected side effects not experienced by male participants.
Anyone who has experienced ill-health knows how disheartening it can be to be told doctors don’t know what’s wrong with you, to be referred to the hospital just to be put on waitlists that last years and told that your symptoms are all in your head. It is obvious that more needs to be done to address these issues on a deeper level. But in the meantime, there are some things women can do to take control of their care and ensure they are heard.
The first thing you can do is bring notes with you to appointments. Make detailed notes of your symptoms, maybe even on your calendar or in a dedicated journal. Also bringing someone with you to your appointment can be useful if you are able or feel this would help you. The unfortunate truth is that sometimes people are more likely to listen when there is someone else to corroborate your symptoms. Having someone there to speak on your behalf in case you find it upsetting to discuss certain subjects or become overwhelmed can make a huge difference. Another important tip is to ask your doctor questions about your diagnosis (if you have one) and any treatment you may receive. We all know that feeling when we leave an appointment thinking ‘I should have asked this or that’. So, make sure that no matter how nervous you may feel, ask about anything you are unsure or even just curious about, so you can leave feeling at ease and confident in how to move forward. If you find your GP is being unhelpful, remember you can switch GPs. This can take some time, but it is helpful to remember as a last resort. And finally, trust your body. We know ourselves better than anyone else, so if you feel like something is out of the ordinary, make an appointment to speak with someone, even if only for some reassurance.
It can be frustrating that so much about our health is completely out of our hands. But these are some small things we can do to re-assert a level of control over our care. Until wider society is ready for a more in-depth conversation about the medical reality of those assigned female at birth, these band aid solutions are all the options we have available.
Edited by: David Williamson
Miah Lynch is a Comment Contributor. She is a third year Philosophy and Politics student