Sunday, April 14, 2019

Pain and Biases in Treating It

Today in class we discussed pain. We talked about racial biases and perceptions of pain. Specifically, we talked about how this effects the health field. Although no one believed themselves to be free of biases, it was interesting to talk about some common misconceptions, and how we should go about making the healthcare industry and professionals free from or at least aware of these biases. Along with race we discussed the topic of age. It was interesting how through an activity, when asked to agree/disagree with a statement that many in the class felt that they would not consent to piercing their infant’s ears, but did reveal that they would consent to a male infant circumcision procedure. We talked about the history of pain perception and how this might still effect parent’s decisions about painful procedures and in turn perhaps how that could be life-altering for the child. The ethics of prescribing pain medication and consenting to pain-inducing procedures were topics of discussion. To read additional stories on racial disparities, circumcision, and to view the original studies in which we talked about in class, click on the links below. (by DT and SB)

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