A new poll from TODAY and SurveyMonkey shows women often worry about facing gender discrimination from their doctors, despite being equally satisfied as men with the care they receive. Key findings include:
- 52% of women but just 36% of men say gender discrimination towards patients is a serious problem in the healthcare system
- 17% of women but just 6% of men say they have personally been treated differently by a healthcare provider because of their gender
- Women are more likley than men to say:
- A health care provider ignored or dismissed my symptoms (21 vs. 14%)
- They felt like they needed to “prove” their symptoms to a health care provider (22 vs. 17%)
- Still, most men and women say they're satisfied with the quality of care they receive from their health care providers (85% each)
Read more about our polling methodology here.
Click through all the results in the interactive toplines below:
Question wording:
Overall, how satisfied are you with the quality of care you receive when you visit a doctor or other health care provider?
How comfortable do you feel talking to your primary health care provider about any symptoms you may be experiencing?
How seriously do you feel your health care provider(s) take(s) any symptoms you may be experiencing?
Have you ever experienced any of the following situations while receiving medical care? (Select all that apply).
Have you ever been diagnosed with chronic pain (such as lower back pain, arthritis, migraine, etc.) or a chronic condition (such as cancer, lung disease, stroke, diabetes, etc.)?
Thinking about your most recent diagnosis for a chronic condition, how would you describe the length of time it took for you to receive your diagnosis after first visiting a health care provider?
Thinking about your most recent chronic condition, how satisfied were you with how you were treated by healthcare providers?
How serious a problem do you think gender discrimination towards patients is in the healthcare system (doctors, pharmacists, insurers, etc.)?
Have you ever felt that you have been treated differently by a health care provider because of your gender?
NBC News|SurveyMonkey
*women
