Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Research in Social Sciences
Year: 2024
DOI:
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“Why They Don’t Listen To Me?” Czech Female Patients Facing Gender Bias in Healthcare Facilities
Soňa Kehmová
ABSTRACT:
Despite the wide availability of health care in the Czech Republic, experiences with the care provided and its outcomes can vary dramatically. Women who proactively seek medical assistance are often met with a response from medical staff that they did not expect. Scepticism, misunderstanding, lack of empathy, downplaying of symptoms, attributing psychological explanations to their health problems, marginalisation of their own body experiences, or feelings of inferiority are often present in the experiences of female patients visiting Czech healthcare facilities. A qualitative study based on in-depth interviews with female patients was conducted to explore the gender dimension of the doctor-patient relationship. A focus group of 15 women with various health problems was selected with the aim of exploring the relationship between implicit gender biases of health professionals and delayed or incorrect diagnosis of female patients. The further aim of this study is to gain insight into how delayed or incorrect diagnosis affects women’s trust in doctors and their willingness to visit medical facilities. This contribution to the feminist literature on gender inequalities in health care draws attention to an unexplored and seldom discussed topic, the phenomenon known as the gender health gap, which has not received adequate attention in the Czech academic environment, despite the serious consequences that delayed or incorrect diagnosis has for women’s health and lives.
keywords: gender health gap; Czech Republic; doctor-patient relationship; gender inequality