Gender Bias in Health Care: The Role of Nurses in Mitigating Health Care Disparities
| 7 Min Read
For many women, gender bias in health care poses a significant barrier to quality care. Consider that 29% of women responding to a recent survey said doctors had “dismissed their concerns” during the previous two years. Additionally, about 1 in 10 women encountered discrimination due to their gender and other factors during health care visits.
Gender bias occurs when individuals indicate preferences for one gender over another. Whether unconscious or not, gender bias in medical diagnoses can lead to delayed care and diminished outcomes for women, according to RAND, a nonprofit research organization. As a result, it’s crucial for nursing professionals to learn about biases in health care and take steps to address them.
Impacts of Gender Bias in Health Care
Before examining ways to mitigate these challenges, let’s explore how gender bias in health care affects women. Research into suboptimal health outcomes has found the following issues:
Misdiagnoses in Women’s Health
Men and women are equally at risk for cardiovascular disease. Even so, “women are 50% more likely to be misdiagnosed with a heart attack” than men, according to a study in the medical science journal Cureus. This problem might stem from health care professionals using the same diagnosis approaches for women and men—despite guidelines that require differentiated care.
Subpar health care training could explain part of this issue. USA Today reported that only about 50% of doctors and cardiologists “feel prepared to diagnose a heart attack in women.” Given that more women than men die from heart attacks each year, this raises the need to reverse misdiagnoses in women’s health.
Disparities in Pain Management Treatment
Women account for 70% of patients suffering from chronic pain, so presumably, one could expect a greater focus on women in any pain studies. However, Forbes reported that pain studies often include a higher percentage of men, potentially hindering the medical community’s understanding of pain management for many patients seeking care.
With pain management, there isn’t simply medical research gender bias, but it also impacts patient care. Here are some examples:
- A study by Academic Emergency Medicine found that a lower percentage of women, as compared to men, received pain therapies for acute abdominal pain.
- Women are less likely to receive prescriptions for painkillers than men, including after coronary bypass surgery, according to Harvard Health Publishing.
- An analysis published by eClinicalMedicine found that it’s common for medical practices to disregard women’s pain symptoms.
The Need to Prove Their Symptoms
Gender bias in medical diagnoses leads some women to feel health care practitioners do not take their concerns seriously. This was reported in a survey conducted by the American Cancer Society that found “women were more likely to feel they had to ‘prove’ their symptoms” to disbelieving health care providers. It’s no surprise that more women reported lower satisfaction after visiting physicians.
Factors That Contribute to Disparities
Many factors contribute to gender bias in medical treatments, including broader challenges that affect society. Grappling with this issue requires health care leaders to consider how the following factors affect the care that many women receive.
Implicit Bias in Health Care
What is implicit bias in health care? It occurs when health care practitioners discriminate against patients due to subconscious perspectives on gender and other attributes. While that discrimination is often unintended, it still promotes unequal access to health care for many patients, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.
In addition to the impact on patients, these biases can limit workforce diversity and advancement opportunities. As a result, it’s essential for institutions involved in health care—from universities and vocational schools to hospital systems—to provide training on this issue and offer strategies for how to reduce implicit bias in health care.
Research Gaps
Research published by the National Library of Medicine showed that men often outnumber women in clinical trials. This imbalance creates the potential for gender bias in medical trials. Studies may fail to document biological differences in how men and women respond to treatment options, prescription drugs and the use of medical devices.
Socioeconomic and Cultural Factors
It’s common for women to have unequal socioeconomic positions compared to men. According to a recent study, this inequality contributes to a “social gradient of health” where one’s lower socioeconomic position increases health risks. The persistence of disparities based on gender—along with ethnicity, income and religious beliefs—creates systemic barriers to overcoming gender bias in health care.
Gender Disparities in Health Care Leadership
According to McKinsey & Company, women hold 75% of entry-level roles and 70% of management positions in the health care sector. Unfortunately, many come up against a glass ceiling when pursuing top-level roles, as they account for only 32% of C-suite or executive management positions. This lack of representation could contribute to gender bias in health care leadership, with top decision-makers considering narrower perspectives on women’s health issues.
The Role of Nurses in Mitigating Disparities
Make no mistake, solving gender bias in health care requires systemic changes and buy-in from executive leaders. That said, all professionals can contribute to solutions, including nurses who work on the frontlines of patient care. Here are some areas where nurses can champion equitable practices:
Education and Advocacy
Many upper-level nurses struggle to develop training that builds awareness of implicit bias, according to research from Nurse Leader. Reversing this trend will require nurse managers to offer ongoing training on this issue so that everyone on their teams understands implicit bias and its triggers.
It’s also vital for nurse leaders to advocate for practices and policies that address gender bias in health care. According to NurseJournal, nurse leaders can take the lead in promoting equitable practices by:
- Working with state nursing associations
- Contacting lawmakers and lobbying groups
- Attending legislative sessions focusing on health care regulations
Patient-Centered Care
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to health care. As discussed in an Ipsos report, focusing on patient-centered care helps avoid biased, inequitable treatments. When taking this approach, nursing professionals can capture and understand symptoms by following evidence-based practices instead of informal judgments based on subconscious generalizations.
Improving Communication and Trust
Delivering patient-centered care demands effective communication and empathy. Toward that end, the American Nursing Association (ANA) encourages nurses to become active listeners for a simple reason—it builds trust. While this might seem simple, it could assuage concerns about health care professionals who do not pay attention to symptoms that women report.
Empowering Patients
In addition to encouraging active listening, ANA stresses that nurses should seek ways to empower patients receiving treatment. One idea is for nurses to provide clear details about conditions and treatment options while urging patients to take active roles in health care decisions.
Of course, empowering patients doesn’t mean they must go it alone. Instead, nurses can reiterate symptoms to physicians and other health care providers. In addition to helping patients feel supported, this communication contributes to improved outcomes, according to NurseJournal. Considering the ill effects of gender bias in health care, these efforts could make a meaningful difference for women seeking care.
Nurse Managers and Executives Can Make a Difference
From having equal representation in clinical trials to training physicians on diagnosing health conditions in women, confronting gender bias demands widespread change. At the same time, nursing professionals have the power to help individual patients feel supported and empowered. That’s especially true for nurses in management and leadership positions.
If you want to advance to higher-level nursing positions, earning your Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) is an excellent next step. Sacred Heart University’s online master’s degree in nursing management and executive leadership imparts advanced skills for improving processes, communication and patient outcomes. Begin the program to become a transformative leader versed in strategic planning, nursing care innovations and techniques for establishing a positive health care culture.
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