Perception, pain, and prejudice: misunderstanding and contemporary maternal health inequality

Pain is a universal experience that we human beings experience daily, whether mentally, physically, or emotionally. Encountering pain is a fundamental aspect of the human experience, serving as a universal reminder of our shared humanity. It operates as an internal alarm system, alerting us to disruptions in both external and internal equilibrium, thereby highlighting the importance of maintaining homeostasis. With this universal sensation felt by all of humankind for millions of years, in a more modern context, there exists a need to understand how a universal connection is measured. As pain is felt on a universal scale such as the 1-10 Measurement systems seen through the medical sector, the perception of pain and treatment for its varying degrees is not universal. It is essential to recognize that each person’s experience of pain is unique, even when faced with similar injuries. This subjectivity in pain perception is shaped by intricate interactions among biological, psychological, and social factors. Like many systems and policies in place in the United States and countries abroad, there are racial ideations interwoven into how social institutions - Medicine, Education, and Politics – influence the treatment of minority communities systematically. In the examination of racial ideations in the development of pain scale systems within the medical field, as well as their contribution to continued mistreatment and malpractice, the focus of this dissertation seeks to examine the combination of historical and contemporary perspectives to explore how racial bias has impacted pain assessment practices and exacerbated disparities in pain management among African American men and women.