Editing Pain (section)

===Other reporting barriers===
The way in which one experiences and responds to pain is related to sociocultural characteristics, such as gender, ethnicity, and age.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Encandela JA | title = Social science and the study of pain since Zborowski: a need for a new agenda | journal = Social Science & Medicine | volume = 36 | issue = 6 | pages = 783–791 | date = March 1993 | pmid = 8480223 | doi = 10.1016/0277-9536(93)90039-7 }}</ref><ref>Zborowski M. ''People in Pain''. 1969, San Francisco, CA:Josey-Bass{{ISBN?}}{{page needed|date=January 2023}}</ref> An aging adult may not respond to pain in the same way that a younger person might. Their ability to recognize pain may be blunted by illness or the use of [[prescription drug|medication]]. Depression may also keep older adult from reporting they are in pain. Decline in [[self-care]] may also indicate the older adult is experiencing pain. They may be reluctant to report pain because they do not want to be perceived as weak, or may feel it is impolite or shameful to complain, or they may feel the pain is a form of deserved punishment.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Encandela JA |year=1997 |title=Social Construction of pain and aging: Individual artfulness within interpretive structures |journal= Symbolic Interaction|volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=251–273 |doi=10.1525/si.1997.20.3.251}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Lawhorne L, Passerini J | date = 1999 | title = Chronic Pain Management in the Long Term Care Setting: Clinical Practice Guidelines. | location = Baltimore, Maryland | publisher = American Medical Directors Association | pages = 1–27 }}</ref>

Cultural barriers may also affect the likelihood of reporting pain. Patients may feel that certain treatments go against their religious beliefs. They may not report pain because they feel it is a sign that death is near. Many people fear the stigma of addiction, and avoid pain treatment so as not to be prescribed potentially addicting drugs. Many Asians do not want to lose respect in society by admitting they are in pain and need help, believing the pain should be borne in silence, while other cultures feel they should report pain immediately to receive immediate relief.<ref name= Jarvis2004/>

Gender can also be a perceived factor in reporting pain. [[Gender differences]] can be the result of social and cultural expectations, with, in some cultures, women expected to be more emotional and show pain, and men to be more stoic.<ref name= Jarvis2004/> As a result, female pain may be at a higher risk of being stigmatized, leading to less urgent treatment of women based on social expectations of their ability to accurately report it.<ref>{{cite news | vauthors = Epstein R |date=19 March 2018 |title=When Doctors Don't Listen to Women |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/books/review/abby-norman-ask-me-about-my-uterus.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=20 July 2019 |archive-date=9 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509110006/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/books/review/abby-norman-ask-me-about-my-uterus.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This has been postulated to lead to extended emergency room wait times for women and frequent dismissal of their ability to accurately report pain.<ref>{{cite news | vauthors = Fasslet J |date=15 October 2015 |title=How Doctors Take Women's Pain Less Seriously |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/10/emergency-room-wait-times-sexism/410515/ |work=The Atlantic |access-date=20 July 2019 |archive-date=17 July 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190717161732/https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/10/emergency-room-wait-times-sexism/410515/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Stories of Misunderstanding Women's Pain |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/all/2015/10/stories-of-misunderstood-womens-pain/411793/ |work=The Atlantic |date=15 March 2016 |access-date=20 July 2019 |archive-date=15 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415114017/https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/all/2015/10/stories-of-misunderstood-womens-pain/411793/ |url-status=live }}</ref>