Hysterical Health

I think sometimes perhaps myself and definitely colleagues would be more likely to believe a man if they said they had pain … in general, people are more reluctant to believe women when they say they have got pain

These words from a surgeon currently practising medicine in the UK may reflect a wider cultural pattern influencing the way women are perceived by healthcare professionals (HCPs) and therefore their experiences of healthcare.

Whilst women in the UK have a longer life expectancy than men, we found that they spend comparatively more of their lives in poor health. We can see how historical perspectives on women’s bodies have set the stage for some of the deep-seated cultural assumptions we see today.

This paper "Hysterical Health: Unpicking the cultural beliefs that shape women's healthcare"  explores how culturally-embedded beliefs about gender influence healthcare professionals’  behaviours and what needs to change to potentially level the playing field.