Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking
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Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw · Dec 2013
Pain assessment and treatment decisions for virtual human patients.
Laypeople and healthcare professionals use demographic cues when making pain management decisions. These decisions can negatively affect patient outcomes. This study examined whether laypeople base their pain management decisions in part on pain-related postures and demographic cues. ⋯ The participants assessed male VH patients to be experiencing more pain than female VH patients. This study suggests that participants use sex as a cue when assessing pain. Participants may perceive VH male patients as experiencing high pain intensity if the participants are willing to counter male stereotypes and acknowledge that the male VH patients display pain behaviors.