Scientists are studying all avenues to reduce mortality around the world. Researchers at Harvard University have thus studied, for four years, the medical records of one and a half million hospitalized patients aged 65 or over, in order to compare the “performances” of men and women. Verdict? On average, 11% of patients cared for by women died within a month of admission to hospital, compared to 11.5% for patients cared for by men. And that's not all:they estimate at 15% the rate of patients treated by women who must return to the hospital for other examinations, compared to 15.5% among male doctors. A difference that certainly seems minimal, but could reduce mortality by 0.5%. Out of 1.5 million people, that still represents 32,000 lives in one year! When you are told that you have to follow the example of women...!
How to explain this difference? Previous studies have shown that women are more likely to follow clinical guidelines and counsel patients on preventive care better than men, who "like to be their own experts", according to the study. The report also indicates that people in hospital prefer to deal with a woman rather than a man. However, the study reveals that women are paid less than men in the medical field (as in almost all professional fields in fact...). One more reason for this to stop!
