Alexia Tawes

Writing for the Sciences

English 21003

Rhetorical Analysis

9/30/2020

Gender Bias in Healthcare

Article : Gender Bias in Medicine

Author : Katarina Hamberg

Katrina Hamberg is a researcher who is currently 68 years of age. She is a professor at Umeå University – UMU and a part of the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine.

Genre : This piece was written in the form of a journal entry.

Arrangement : The article was very organized. It wasn’t confusing at all. The paragraphs were organized into specific topics under the subject of Gender Bias ; Sex and Gender, Gender bias in clinical practice, Gender blindness in research, Advancements, Examples of Gender Bias, Knowledge-mediated gender bias, A two-way view of gender bias, Gender theory, Education requested and Future research. It ends with a summary chart and a work cited.

Medium : This piece is a Women’s Health published article for The Department of Public Health & Clinical Medicine, Family Medicine, & Centre for Gender Excellence at Umeå University, Research Programme

Audience : I would say this entry has multiple audiences. Intended audiences include a healthcare professional, a student interested in healthcare, someone researching gender biases in medicine or someone interested about learning about gender bias in general.

Tone: The tone was very formal. I would also include cautionary and informative because of the fact the article raises awareness and shines light on gender bias in medicine. The author never chose a side or gave a biased opinion, instead she used logic and gave proof based on research.

The way the article started shows this.

“Research has shown that different biological processes, anatomies, conditions in daily life, environmental experiences, risk behaviors and responses to stressful events, may all contribute to variation in health and disease in men and women. .. There is also evidence that women, for no apparent medical reason, are not offered the same treatment as men, a phenomenon that raises the question of gender bias.  ” (Hamberg 1 )

The author never said ‘in my opinion’ or anything similar. She introduced her topic based on research and evidence found.

Stance : The stance was very neutral in my opinion. The author was just shedding light on Gender Bias and the fact that it does exist, while discussing the key causes of gender bias and how to understand it.

“Even if gender blindness is still a problem, huge efforts have been made by some researchers to counteract the neglect of women and support medical science with data on women.” (Hamberg 2)

The author was very neutral with this statement, making sure to add that research was being done to combat gender bias.

Purpose : The purpose of this article is to inform individuals of the prevalence of gender bias in medicine .

Message : “Gender bias has implications in the treatment of both male and female patients and it is important to take into consideration in most fields of medical research, clinical practice and education. Gender blindness and stereotyped preconceptions about men and women are identified as key causes to gender bias. However, exaggeration of observed sex and gender differences can also lead to bias. “ (Hamberg 1)

The message of this article was that the more research done, the more it shows a bias against women in the healthcare system. From the way medicines are researched and tested to the approach doctors take when diagnosing and treating diseases, research shows that bias against women is real in healthcare.

The writing style can be described as Logos.

“Many studies, for example, show that women are less likely than men to receive more advanced diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.” (Hamberg 1)

This shows that the writer is focusing on logic and proof.

Effect : This article was successful in informing the reader of the existence of gender bias in medicine. It addressed Gender Bias in research and clinical practice.

This article is important because if you knew nothing about Gender Bias or the fact that it exists, by then reading the article, you would have enough information to be educated on the topic. Katrina made it clear that Gender Bias is a threatening phenomenon in medicine, specifically research and clinical trials. When we talk about gender bias in medicine we usually either mean  unintended, but systematic neglect of either women or men,normally women,  stereotyped preconceptions about the health of  women, or neglect of gender issues, specifically women. Gender bias has negative impacts in treatment of both male and female patients and so we should  take into consideration most fields of medical research, clinical practice and education.

Women are significantly neglected in healthcare. Doctors tend to discount women’s pain by not taking them seriously, not researching conditions that are more common in women, not including women in clinical trials and assuming that what works on a man will work on a woman the same way, and not preparing for a woman’s problem by having the equipment needed. Societal stereotypes of women contribute to this idea that creates this bias because women are already seen as a minority. Healthcare makes it no better. Not only are the female physicians treated differently but the female patients are treated differently also. Additionally society has yet to grasp the fact that women are evolving in healthcare just as men are so they respect a male physician more. Gender bias in healthcare cannot be combated without bringing it to light. Most healthcare providers may have implicit bias when treating patients. More women have to be involved in clinical trials,  sex specific differences have to be acknowledged, public awareness has to be increased, and diversity has to be embraced.

The way the author wrote was successful because it was organized. Katrina made it easy to follow the article, point out the key points, analyze the issue of Gender Bias from different perspectives and acknowledge what can be done to eradicate it.

I was drawn to this topic because , not only do I want my future job to be in healthcare, specifically a physician, I am interested in the research of the underserved, the minority and systematic neglect. I have been researching bias for a while and what stands out to me is the fact that specific scientific evaluations were not put in place to determine the differences in gender when it comes to making gender- biased assessments.

I chose this article specifically because it had all the key points that need to be addressed when it comes to Gender Bias and also because along with giving information about Gender Bias as a whole, it mentioned how we can get rid of it. Gender bias in healthcare cannot be combated without bringing it to light. Most healthcare providers may have implicit bias when treating patients. More women have to be involved in clinical trials,  sex specific differences have to be acknowledged, public awareness has to be increased, and diversity has to be embraced.

Reference

Hamberg, Katarina. “Gender Bias in Medicine.” Women’s Health, vol. 4, no. 3, 2008, pp. 237–243., doi:10.2217/17455057.4.3.237.