Ep16: Dr. Karen Spencer, PhD on medical gaslighting, bias, and systems

“Medical gaslighting” of women and other groups has been described in popular media. As a physician, I never want to think that I am gaslighting, or purposefully dismissing, patients and their concerns. From a sociological perspective, medical decision-making has built-in bias or schemas or mental representations, and there are entire systems around this that need to be addressed for more equitable care. Listen in to a sociological analysis of medical decision-making and how more awareness of bias within systems can be beneficial. Dr. Karen Luftey Spencer, MA PhD is a Professor of Health and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Colorado Denver. She researches medical decision making, health disparities, and patient-provider relationships. She received her BA in Sociology/Anthropology from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1993, and her MA and PhD in Sociology from Indiana University in 1995 and 2000. She was recently quoted in a NYT article titled, “Women Are Calling Out ‘Medical Gaslighting’” (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/28/well/live/gaslighting-doctors-patients-health.html). Link to her article on social foundations of health care inequality and treatment bias https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Karen-Spencer-5/publication/303482505_Social_Foundations_of_Health_Care_Inequality_and_Treatment_Bias/links/57ffd3a308aec3e477eac646/Social-Foundations-of-Health-Care-Inequality-and-Treatment-Bias.pdf.