Women Face Negative Healthcare Experiences; Women Share Real Stories

It would come as a surprise, especially to women, that according to a new report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), many women feel that they have been treated poorly by doctors. Almost half of the participants claimed to have had negative healthcare experience.

Out of the 5000 women aged between 18 and 64 who participated in the KFF Women’s Health Survey (WHS) in 2022, 29% claimed that their doctor dismissed their concern. 19% said that their doctor assumed something about them without asking, and 15% stated that their doctor didn’t believe them. The worst was that 13% of the participants said that their doctor blamed them for a health problem that they were experiencing. 9% of participants reported that they were discriminated against based on their age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, race, or other personal characteristics.

Overall, 38% of women reported having at least one of these negative experiences with their medical practitioner. The survey also illustrated that negative experiences were more common among younger women, between the ages of 18 and 35. 46% of the participants in the younger age group claimed to have had negative experiences with their doctors.

Women Have Negative Healthcare Experience

At eight months postpartum, I continued to suffer from severe back pain. When I visited a gynaecologist, without even giving me a check-up, she told me that "I was faking it because I was depressed." It took a minute for me to stomach what I just heard. Later, when I went to an orthopedist, he diagnosed that I did have some minor issues due to excessive strain and incorrect posture. Even though I wasn't her patient, the same doctor told me I would have a C-section because I was "short," but I ended up having a vaginal delivery instead.

Unfortunately, this is something most women can relate to. Almost all women know of someone who has had a negative experience with their doctor. Here are a few young women who open up about the bad experiences they've had with doctors.

Deeptha Sreedhar, 29, said, "Once a gynaecologist dismissed my hair fall issues, citing PCOD as the reason. While it was one of the symptoms, it wasn't the only cause. When I checked with a dermatologist, I learned that it was due to a genetic condition and had to be treated specifically."

"I felt that something was wrong with my health, but the doctor dismissed my claim, stating that I was young and healthy. But later I was diagnosed with PCOD, and now I’m taking 3 to 4 pills every day," said 27-year-old Snehal Mutha.

Ragini Daliya, 25, said, "My family gynaecologist diagnosed me with PCOS. She huffed and said that she was surprised because, according to her, I wasn’t too skinny or too overweight to have this syndrome. "Her generalisations about the disease and such blatant body shaming comments left me shocked and confused."

"When I was 24, I visited a doctor for body pain, and he diagnosed me with arthritis. Despite taking medications, my condition didn’t improve. But I knew it couldn’t be arthritis because the pain wasn’t that severe. When I spoke about this to the doctor, he got offended and yelled that he was the one with a medical degree and he knew his job. I decided to get a second opinion and visited another doctor, who said that I only had a vitamin deficiency and that if I had continued the medications, it would have caused permanent heart damage," said 28-year-old Kiruthiga Elumalai.

Karuna, 24, said, "I’ve always been a chubby girl. As my periods were irregular, I went to my family gynecologist. She diagnosed me with PCOD, body shamed me, and blamed me for the health issue that I was experiencing. Her words were so hurtful that I teared up right there and rushed out of the room."

Many women generally fail to prioritise their healthcare and even when they do coming across experiences like this is really distressing and terrifying. It's rather astonishing when doctors turn out to be judgmental, regressive, cruel, and negligent. As patients, we are usually very open and honest with our doctors, sharing even the most intimate details in the hope that they will be empathetic and professional. Instances like these leave us wondering: How will I find the right doctor and receive the right treatment?

Suggested Reading: Young Women With Heavy Periods Fails To Get Help, Can Lead To Big Health Problems