Healthcare Experiences and Pain Dismissal by Healthcare Professionals

Author

Amanda WarrenFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-10-2025

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Biology

First Advisor

Hannah Allen

Second Advisor

Sarah Bilsky

Third Advisor

Nicholas McAfee

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

Background. Pain dismissal by healthcare professionals has gained recent attention in popular culture as people have come forward to discuss their own experiences with this issue. Pain dismissal is prevalent within the healthcare system, and college-aged young adults may be particularly vulnerable to experiencing pain dismissal because of their age. College students may also be influenced by societal factors that may affect their attitudes towards seeking help and advocating for themselves during healthcare visits. There is limited research on college students' attitudes and behaviors on seeking help after experiencing pain dismissal by a healthcare provider. This study aims to 1) describe the prevalence of pain dismissal by healthcare professionals among undergraduate college students, 2) assess the associations between pain dismissal and help-seeking among undergraduate college students, and 3) explore differential associations between pain dismissal and help-seeking when comparing male and female students.

Methods. This was a cross-sectional study that used a self-administered online survey. Participants were undergraduate students at the University of Mississippi who were between the ages of 18 to 23. Demographic information was collected including age, sex, race/ethnicity, and class standing. To assess pain dismissal, participants were asked if they have ever experienced chronic pain, if they have had their pain dismissed in their lifetime and within the last 12 months, and if they felt they did not receive sufficient care. To assess participants’ behaviors towards visiting a healthcare professional after experiencing pain dismissal, they were asked how likely they were to seek help for pain in the future and if they were likely to seek help for a reason unrelated to pain in the future. To examine the attitudes of the participants towards visiting a healthcare professional after experiencing pain dismissal, they were asked questions based on their attitudes and anxiety on a scale from 1 to 7. Linear regression models were used to assess the associations between pain dismissal by a healthcare professional and the resulting attitudes and behaviors of the participants. To analyze if gender moderated these relationships, linear regressions were run again after stratifying the sample by sex.

Results. A final sample of n=142 college students was analyzed, with a mean age of 19.8 years old. The sample was mostly female (81.7%) and white (87.3%). Chronic pain had been experienced by 47% of participants and 35% had experienced pain dismissal in their lifetime. Over half (67%) stated they were moderately or very likely to seek help for pain in the future. Experiencing pain dismissal was associated with decreased anticipated benefit of seeking help for pain in the future and decreased confidence in pain being believed in the future. Experiencing pain dismissal was also associated with increased anxiety around seeking help for pain in the future. Key differences in associations of interest were noted when the sample was stratified by sex.

Conclusion. This study suggests that experiencing pain dismissal is linked to anxiety and decreased confidence around seeking help for pain in the future among college students. Future research should continue to examine the effects of pain dismissal by healthcare professionals among young adults and strategies that can help to decrease the prevalence and impact of pain dismissal experiences.

Recommended Citation

Warren, Amanda, "Healthcare Experiences and Pain Dismissal by Healthcare Professionals" (2025). Honors Theses. 3183.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3183