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.
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
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