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Discussion points

Discuss your experiences of the gender pain gap as a team.

Let’s take the example of period pain.

  • How often do customers come in and ask for period pain products/advice?
  • Around 80% of women experience period pain at some point in their life.9 Do you think the number you’re seeing represents this? If not, why not?
  • What questions could you ask to get a complete picture of their pain?
  • How can you ensure customers don’t feel like their pain is being dismissed?

Red flags

Refer customers with the following symptoms to the pharmacist or a doctor:10

  • Fever
  • Vaginal discharge
  • Sudden severe abdominal pain
  • Pain during sex
  • Vaginal bleeding between periods
  • Vaginal bleeding after having sex.
References

1. GPG Index Survey 2022

2. Samulowitz A et al. “Brave men” and “emotional women”: a theory-guided literature review on gender bias in health care and gendered norms towards patients with chronic pain. Pain Res Manag 2018;2018:6358624

3. Lillrank A. Back pain and the resolution of diagnostic uncertainty in illness narratives. Soc Sci Med 2003;57(6):1045–1054

4. LaChapelle DL et al. The meaning and process of pain acceptance. Perceptions of women living with arthritis and fibromyalgia. Pain Res Manage 2008;13(3):201–210

5. Côté D et al. A critical review of gender issues in understanding prolonged disability related to musculoskeletal pain: how are they relevant to rehabilitation? Disabil Rehabil 2010;32(2):87–102

6. Yakerson A. Women in clinical trials: a review of policy development and health equity in the Canadian context. Int J Equity Health 2019;18(1):1–8

7. Mirin AA. Gender disparity in the funding of diseases by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. J Womens Health 2021;30(7):956–963

8. Project Serena, Butterfly research n128 2022

9. https://www.womens-health-concern.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/20-WHC-FACTSHEET-Period-Pain-NOV2022-B.pdf

10. https://patient.info/womens-health/periods-and-period-problems/period-pain-dysmenorrhoea

Online references last accessed March 2023.


RKT-M-15971 Date of preparation: March 2023