Artigo em revista científica Q1
Engendering pain management practices: the role of physician sex on chronic low-back pain assessment and treatment prescriptions
Sónia F. Bernardes (Bernardes, S. F.); Margarida Costa (Costa, M.); Helena Carvalho (Carvalho, H.);
Título Revista
Journal of Pain
Ano (publicação definitiva)
2013
Língua
Inglês
País
Reino Unido
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Abstract/Resumo
The impact of physician sex on dimensions of medical care such as treatment prescriptions and referrals has been underexplored, especially in a pain context. Also, few studies have analyzed whether physician sex moderates the influence of patients' or clinical situations' characteristics on pain management practices or its mediating processes. Therefore, our goal was to explore whether physician sex moderates the effects of patient (distressed) pain behaviors and diagnostic evidence of pathology (EP) on treatment prescriptions and referrals for chronic low-back pain, and to explore the mediating role of pain credibility judgments and psychological attributions on these effects. A total of 310 general practitioners (GPs; 72.6% women) participated in a between-subjects design, 2 (patient pain behaviors) x 2 (EP) x 2 (GP sex) x 2 (patient sex). GPs were presented with vignettes depicting a fe(male) chronic low-back pain patient, with(out) distress and with(out) EP (eg, herniated disc). GPs judged the patient's pain and the probability of treatment prescriptions and referrals. Results showed that EP had a larger effect on male than on female physicians' referrals to psychology/psychiatry. Also, GP sex moderated the pain judgments that accounted for the effect of EP and pain behaviors on prescriptions. These findings suggest framing medical decision-making as a process influenced by gender assumptions.
Agradecimentos/Acknowledgements
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Palavras-chave
Gender biases,Chronic low-back pain,General practitioners,Pain management practices
  • Medicina Básica - Ciências Médicas
  • Medicina Clínica - Ciências Médicas
Registos de financiamentos
Referência de financiamento Entidade Financiadora
PTDC/PSI-PSO/099809/2008 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
PEst-OE/SADG/UI3126/2013 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
PEst-OE/PSI/UI3125/2013 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia