Women in pain with endometriosis symptoms are too often being told by doctors that what they are experiencing is “all in their head”, a study has concluded.
The research by academics at Manchester Metropolitan University, and reported in The Guardian, has found women too often feel “gaslit” by doctors and end up giving up trying to seek treatment as a result.
The paper is due to be published in the Journal of Health Communication and found a widespread lack of understanding among doctors of the condition.
Study participants also complained of a postcode lottery when it came to accessing treatment and support. Patients in rural areas, for example, reported having to travel for hours to see a specialist with full training in the condition.
One 27-year-old patient told the researchers: “I feel a lot of mistrust towards the healthcare system in general, simply because I have been told that the pain was in my head, that I must have a low pain threshold or that I was in pain because I was fat.”
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Patients also reported that doctors lacked the medical training to offer support, or to refer them on for the correct tests and procedures. The study concluded that “a lack of confidence to challenge medical experts meant that participants were likely to accept the medical discourse and avoid seeking help in future”.
Dr Jasmine Hearn, senior lecturer in health psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University said: “The biggest challenge is the disbelief, the dismissal and the sense of shame and embarrassment. Women are expected to tolerate much higher pain levels than men in general, so when women go [to the GP] with extreme pain, they are at that point of desperation and need to be taken seriously.”
The paper called for doctors to get better training and to change the way they handle reports of symptoms that suggest possible endometriosis.
The findings have come as, separately, this week marks Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, from Monday 22 January.
Employee assistance programme provider Health Assured has used the calendar marker to remind employers of the importance of providing proper support for employees impacted by this and all types of cancer.
Whether employees are directly or indirectly affected by cervical cancer, reasonable adjustments will need to be made in the workplace.
Kayleigh Frost, head of clinical services at Health Assured, said: “Being diagnosed with cancer is traumatic and upsetting for everyone involved, and the best comfort an employer can offer during this time is a caring hand.
“We all respond to life events differently, so personalised advice, guidance and support is always needed rather than a blanket, one-size-fits-all approach.”
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