Do men and women receive different medical treatment?

About this episode

Men and women are frequently treated differently by healthcare systems according to a review of global research published in the journal, PLOS One. Women with the same medical conditions as men are less likely to be offered the medical treatments offered to men such as surgery, statins, or strong painkillers. They are also less likely to be offered treatment for conditions like cardiovascular conditions, kidney disease and Parkinson’s disease. Claudia Hammond is joined by family doctor, Ann Robinson, to discuss. Claudia and Ann also discuss global disparities in access to dermatological care and the announcement that the Jehovah’s Witness ban on accepting blood components in transfusions has been lifted. Also, for centuries scientists have thought of the brain as a single, unified organ. But new research reveals that what we call the brain could be two distinct organs that evolved independently over hundreds of millions of years. Claudia speaks to Matthew Grubb, Professor of Neuroscience at King's College London, to ask what we can learn from this revelation and whether he now considers the brain to be two organs. And Paddy Ross, Associate Professor in the Department of Psycholo