Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Impact of physician and patient gender on pain management in the emergency department--a multicenter study.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Safdar, B; Heins, A; Homel, P; Miner, J; Neighbor, M; DeSandre, P; Todd, KH; Pain and Emergency Medicine Initiative Study Group,
Published in: Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.)
March 2009

Pain is a complex experience influenced by factors such as age, race, and ethnicity. We conducted a multicenter study to better understand emergency department (ED) pain management practices and examined the influence of patient and provider gender on analgesic administration.Prospective, multicenter, observational study.Consecutive patients, >or=8-years-old, presenting with complaints of moderate to severe pain (pain numerical rating scale [NRS] > 3) at 16 U.S. and three Canadian hospitals.Receipt of any ED analgesic, receipt of opioids, and adequate pain relief in the ED.Eight hundred forty-two patients participated including 56% women. Baseline pain scores were similar in both genders. Analgesic administration rates were not significantly different for female and male patients (63% vs 57%, P = 0.08), although females presenting with severe pain (NRS >or=8) were more likely to receive analgesics (74% vs 64%, P = 0.02). Female physicians were more likely to administer analgesics than male physicians (66% vs 57%, P = 0.009). In logistic regression models, predictors of ED analgesic administration were male physician (odds ratio [OR] = 0.7), arrival pain (OR = 1.3), number of pain assessments (OR = 1.83), and charted follow-up plans (OR = 2.16). With regard to opioid administration, female physicians were more likely to prescribe opioids to females (P = 0.006) while male physicians were more likely to prescribe to males (P = 0.05). In logistic regression models, predictors of opioids administration included male patient gender (OR = 0.58), male patient-physician interaction (OR = 2.58), arrival pain score (OR = 1.28), average pain score (OR = 1.10), and number of pain assessments (OR = 1.5). Pain relief was not impacted by gender.Provider gender as opposed to patient gender appears to influence pain management decisions in the ED.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.)

DOI

EISSN

1526-4637

ISSN

1526-2375

Publication Date

March 2009

Volume

10

Issue

2

Start / End Page

364 / 372

Related Subject Headings

  • Sex Factors
  • Practice Patterns, Physicians'
  • Physicians
  • Pain Measurement
  • Pain Management
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Emergency Medical Services
  • Cohort Studies
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Safdar, B., Heins, A., Homel, P., Miner, J., Neighbor, M., DeSandre, P., … Pain and Emergency Medicine Initiative Study Group, . (2009). Impact of physician and patient gender on pain management in the emergency department--a multicenter study. Pain Medicine (Malden, Mass.), 10(2), 364–372. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-4637.2008.00524.x
Safdar, Basmah, Alan Heins, Peter Homel, James Miner, Martha Neighbor, Paul DeSandre, Knox H. Todd, and Knox H. Pain and Emergency Medicine Initiative Study Group. “Impact of physician and patient gender on pain management in the emergency department--a multicenter study.Pain Medicine (Malden, Mass.) 10, no. 2 (March 2009): 364–72. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-4637.2008.00524.x.
Safdar B, Heins A, Homel P, Miner J, Neighbor M, DeSandre P, et al. Impact of physician and patient gender on pain management in the emergency department--a multicenter study. Pain medicine (Malden, Mass). 2009 Mar;10(2):364–72.
Safdar, Basmah, et al. “Impact of physician and patient gender on pain management in the emergency department--a multicenter study.Pain Medicine (Malden, Mass.), vol. 10, no. 2, Mar. 2009, pp. 364–72. Epmc, doi:10.1111/j.1526-4637.2008.00524.x.
Safdar B, Heins A, Homel P, Miner J, Neighbor M, DeSandre P, Todd KH, Pain and Emergency Medicine Initiative Study Group. Impact of physician and patient gender on pain management in the emergency department--a multicenter study. Pain medicine (Malden, Mass). 2009 Mar;10(2):364–372.
Journal cover image

Published In

Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.)

DOI

EISSN

1526-4637

ISSN

1526-2375

Publication Date

March 2009

Volume

10

Issue

2

Start / End Page

364 / 372

Related Subject Headings

  • Sex Factors
  • Practice Patterns, Physicians'
  • Physicians
  • Pain Measurement
  • Pain Management
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Emergency Medical Services
  • Cohort Studies