Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick

Maya Dusenbery's Doing Harm examines systemic gender bias in modern medicine and healthcare. The book presents research, medical history, and patient stories to document how women's symptoms and pain are frequently dismissed or misdiagnosed by medical professionals. The author investigates two primary issues in healthcare: knowledge gaps about women's conditions and gender bias in treatment approaches. She explores these problems through interviews with patients, doctors, and researchers, while analyzing data about disparities in research funding and diagnostic accuracy between men's and women's health conditions. The work moves between individual case studies and broader analysis of the medical establishment's structural problems. Dusenbery traces historical patterns that have led to current gaps in understanding female biology and disease manifestation, particularly in conditions that disproportionately affect women. This critical examination of healthcare inequality serves as both an exposé of systemic failures and a call to action for reform. The book raises fundamental questions about medical authority, scientific methodology, and the relationship between gender and standards of care.

Readers found the book meticulously researched and appreciated its blend of scientific data with personal stories. Many noted it validates women's experiences with healthcare and provides concrete evidence of gender bias in medicine. Readers liked: - Clear documentation of systemic problems - Extensive citations and research - Personal stories that illustrate broader issues - Practical advice for advocating for oneself - Intersectional approach including race and class Readers disliked: - Dense academic writing style - Repetitive examples and points - Focus on criticism without many solutions - Limited coverage of trans healthcare experiences One reader noted: "This book gave me language to describe what I experienced." Another stated: "Important information but tough to get through." Ratings: Goodreads: 4.39/5 (4,800+ ratings) Amazon: 4.7/5 (1,100+ ratings) Barnes & Noble: 4.5/5 (90+ ratings) The book resonates particularly with readers who have experienced medical dismissal firsthand.

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🔍 Author Maya Dusenbery was inspired to write this book after her own experience being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at age 27, where she witnessed firsthand the challenges women face in the healthcare system. 🏥 The book reveals that it takes an average of 5 years and 4.6 doctors before women with autoimmune diseases receive a correct diagnosis. 📚 Despite women being 70% more likely than men to experience chronic pain, most pain studies have been conducted on male mice and human male subjects. 💊 The term "hysteria," which historically led to women's medical complaints being dismissed, comes from the Greek word for uterus and was considered a female-specific condition until the 1950s. 🔬 Until 1993, when Congress passed the NIH Revitalization Act, women of childbearing age were routinely excluded from clinical trials, leading to decades of drug testing being conducted primarily on men.