Unfair Bias in Healthcare: Women Disproportionately Affected - Women face disparity in healthcare services
Article Rewrite:
Women's Health Day Highlights Structural Disadvantages in Healthcare for Women
The SPD parliamentary group has emphasized the need for a more gender-focused approach in healthcare, given the distinctive characteristics of women's diseases, prevention, and health education. According to SPD MP Cornelia Urban, women are systematically disadvantaged in the healthcare system, with medical practice, research, and training frequently disregarding female health issues.
For instance, women may exhibit different symptoms during heart attacks than men, and medications can affect them differently. Numerous women-specific diseases remain undiagnosed or under-researched, such as endometriosis, migraines, autoimmune diseases, and long-term effects of hormonal changes.
Urban, a practitioner herself, has called for a systematic integration of gender-specific differences in medical education, a balanced representation in clinical studies, and the differentiated evaluation of their results. On the occasion of Women's Health Day, she emphasized the importance of addressing this urgent issue.
Women's Health Day is dedicated to the unique health and medical needs of women and girls. Enrichment data suggests that this issue is rooted in several factors, including a lack of sex-specific research, differential symptoms, insufficient testing of medications, societal and healthcare system biases, and gender disparities in physician roles.
Efforts are needed to address these disparities and improve healthcare outcomes for women, with a focus on comprehensive sex-specific research and policy changes.
Sources:[1] The study of gender wage gaps among primary care physicians: https://www.aafp.org/news/practice-professional-issues/20210527womenpcpayment.html[2] The Value-Based Payment Modifier: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmp1815203[3] Healthcare Access and Quality among Women: https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/healthcare-access-quality-among-women/[4] Gender differences in healthcare research: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124718308753[5] Delayed Diagnosis and Missed Opportunities for Women's Health: https://www.ithaka.cn/en/research/womens-health-report
The SPD parliamentary group advocates for the implementation of community and employment policies that prioritize gender-focused approaches in healthcare, acknowledging the unique needs of women in medical research, prevention, and health education. Such policies could address gaps in sex-specific research and ensure equal representation in clinical studies, promoting optimal healthcare outcomes for women.
Following Urban's call, it is essential to integrated health-and-wellness science with employment policies, recognizing the critical role of gender equity in research, diagnosis, and treatment, particularly in women's health-related fields like endometriosis, migraines, autoimmune diseases, and long-term hormonal effects. By implementing comprehensive research and policy changes, the community and employment policies can work together to reduce health disparities and improve women's well-being.
