The Pain Gap: How Sexism and Racism in Healthcare Kill Women is a nonfiction book about women's healthcare in the United States, written by Anushay Hossain and published by Simon & Schuster in 2021.[1]
 | |
| Author | Anushay Hossain |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | Priya Ayyar |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | 2021 |
| Pages | 288 |
| ISBN | 9781982177775 |
Background
editAnushay Hossain previously worked as a policy analyst with the Feminist Majority Foundation, and as of 2021 was working as a freelance journalist and podcast host of Spilling Chai.[2] After her experience with healthcare related to pregnancy and giving birth in the United States, she began conducting research and interviews for a book with a focus on those issues, but as her research developed, she expanded her focus to women's healthcare more generally.[2]
Synopsis
editThe book includes Hossain's description of her childhood in Bangladesh, and the influence from her mother Tasmima Hossain.[3][4] She also describes her own experience with United States healthcare related to giving birth, descriptions of other cases, and statistics related to national and global disparities in healthcare.[4][5]
Reception
editIn a review for Library Journal, Elizabeth Eastwood writes, "The book's tone effectively conveys Hossain's determination to change Western medicine's model of care, particularly for patients who are women of color; it's a call to arms for patients, to advocate for themselves and others", and "Hossain synthesizes a great deal of qualitative and quantitative data in this effective overview of bias in American medicine, particularly women's and maternal healthcare."[6]
In The Daily Star, Jackie Kabir writes, "One of the most striking pieces of information we get from her book is that the USA, which seems to be a vehement advocate of human rights and equality, in reality does not take women patients very seriously."[3] In South Asia Journal, Arnold Zeitlin writes, "Hossain has written an angry book that sheds light on an issue that confronts families the world over."[4]
Editions
edit- 2021, Simon & Schuster/Tiller Press (ISBN 9781982177775)
- 2022, Simon & Schuster/Simon Element (ISBN 9781982177799), paperback
- 2022, Simon & Schuster/Simon Element (ISBN 9781982177782), ebook
- 2022, Simon & Schuster Audio (ISBN 9781797134703), audiobook
References
edit- ^ Bever, Lindsey (December 13, 2022). "From heart disease to IUDs: How doctors dismiss women's pain". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ a b Recker, Jane (7 December 2021). "The Washingtonian Interview: Anushay Hossain". The Washingtonian. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ a b Kabir, Jackie (2 June 2022). "Anushay Hossain's 'The Pain Gap': Labour pains worsened by faulty healthcare". The Daily Star. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ a b c Zeitlin, Arnold (4 October 2021). "Book review: The Pain Gap: How Sexism and Racism in Healthcare Kill Women". South Asia Journal. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ Hossain, Anushay (19 October 2021). "After Nearly Dying in Childbirth, I Wanted to Understand: Why Didn't I Speak Up?". Vogue. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ Eastwood, Elizabeth (October 2021). "The Pain Gap: How Sexism and Racism in Healthcare Kill Women". Library Journal. 146 (10) – via Education Research Complete. ProQuest 2575531488