Gender bias is alive and well when it comes to women in pain.

Below is the text of the Pa. senate resolution declaring September 2011 as Women In Pain Awareess Month.

Bill Text: PA Senate Resolution 144 - 2011-2012 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION


No.
144
Session of

2011

INTRODUCED BY GREENLEAF, MENSCH, STACK, KASUNIC, FERLO, KITCHEN, COSTA, FONTANA, RAFFERTY, DINNIMAN, ERICKSON, FARNESE, ORIE, PILEGGI, ALLOWAY, TARTAGLIONE, PIPPY AND HUGHES, JUNE 15, 2011

INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, JUNE 15, 2011

A RESOLUTION

Designating the month of September 2011 as "Women in Pain
Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania to recognize the need to
raise awareness concerning gender disparity in pain
assessment and treatment.

WHEREAS, Research indicates that differences in men and women
exist in the experience of pain, with women generally
experiencing more recurrent pain, more severe pain and longer-
lasting pain than men; and
WHEREAS, Women have a higher prevalence than men of chronic
pain syndromes and diseases associated with chronic pain, such
as fibromyalgia, reflex sympathetic dystrophy and osteoarthritis
WHEREAS, Although women and men both have strong natural
pain-killing systems, these systems operate differently as the
presence of estrogen lowers an individual's threshold for pain
while testosterone elevates an individual's tolerance for pain;
and
WHEREAS, A 2001 study in the Journal of Law, Medicine, and
Ethics found that women's pain reports are taken less seriously
than those of men and that women receive less aggressive
treatment than men for their pain; and
WHEREAS, According to the National Institutes of Health, pain
is the most common reason Americans access the health care
system and more than 76.5 million Americans suffer from pain,
both chronic and acute, which increases health care costs,
estimated at $100 billion annually in health care expenses, lost
income and lost productivity; and

WHEREAS, Because women respond differently than men to many
their pain is often more all-encompassing and the level of
disability is greater; and
WHEREAS, The difference in the treatment of women in pain, as
compared to that of men, is more than a personal or gender
issue; it is a societal issue; and
WHEREAS, The Women in Pain Awareness Group was founded in
2010 to increase awareness of the gender disparity women
experience worldwide in the assessment and treatment of their
pain; and
WHEREAS, The Women in Pain Awareness Group, along with
Persons With Pain International, believes empowering women to be
better consumers for their pain management care, sensitizing
health care professionals to gender pain disparities and
enlightening public policymakers about pain as a major health
issue will improve life outcomes for all women in pain;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate designate the month of September
2011 as "Women in Pain Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania; and be
it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate draw public attention to the
important need for women to have their pain managed effectively
and without bias through self-empowerment, public awareness,
health care professional education and legislative advocacy.