1 in 3 women say health care providers have dismissed or minimized their symptoms

More than half of U.S. women (51%) say they have experienced being dismissed, misdiagnosed, unable to get answers or otherwise encountering problems getting the care they needed in the past five years, compared with 39% of men, according to a new Gallup-Pivotal Women’s Health Survey. About one-third of women say a provider minimized or dismissed their symptoms (34%), while 33% report being misdiagnosed or unable to get a diagnosis. Nearly as many say they couldn’t get the answers they needed (31%), and 25% received conflicting recommendations. Women were also more likely than men to say they had to advocate for their health (42% vs. 26%).