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Our project investigates potential gender bias in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain conditions in Ireland, inspired by the concerning headlines regarding the quality of care for Irish chronic pain patients. We researched this issue and found that despite a large amount of data globally, there is a lack of data on this issue applicable to Ireland.
We surveyed chronic pain patients in Ireland on their experiences with the Irish healthcare system. We reached a total of 139 women, 15 men and 3 nonbinary patients. We found out from these results that 66.66% of men had been taken seriously by their practitioner, compared to 35.25% of women. Women faced longer wait times for diagnosis at 20 months, compared to an average wait time of 11 months for men (almost double the delay). Both men and women experienced the highest rates of mistreatment in GP offices, with over half of the women (54%) and 80% of men reporting mistreatment here.
Our results show that gender bias does exist in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain conditions in Ireland. There is a notable difference in the quality of care provided to male and female patients, based on whether they were taken seriously and their wait for diagnosis. Links can be drawn between certain healthcare settings and the magnitude of patients who had a negative or positive experience. These results highlight the need for greater awareness and further research to address inequities in the care of chronic pain patients in Ireland.
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