An Assessment Protocol for Gender Analysis of Medical Literature

Alexanderson, Kristina

doi:10.1300/j013v29n02_06

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Information about sex and gender specific analysis might be included only in the body of the article and thus not captured by our research strategy; however, this should account only for a minority of the publications. Furthermore, it should be clarified that gender specific analysis is not limited to the enumeration of the number of female and male subjects in the study cohort, but extends beyond that in the form of distinct subgroup analyses [31]. This is not performed in many research publications and failure to do so may lead to incomplete or biased results leading to wrong conclusions and actions [32].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of sex and gender-specific research reveals a common increase in publications and marked differences between disciplines

Oertelt‐Prigione

Parol

Krohn

et al. 2010

BMC Med

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BackgroundThe incorporation of sex and gender-specific analysis in medical research is increasing due to pressure from public agencies, funding bodies, and the clinical and research community. However, generations of knowledge and publication trends in this discipline are currently spread over distinct specialties and are difficult to analyze comparatively.MethodsUsing a text-mining approach, we have analysed sex and gender aspects in research within nine clinical subspecialties - Cardiology, Pulmonology, Nephrology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Haematology, Oncology, Rheumatology, Neurology - using six paradigmatic diseases in each one. Articles have been classified into five pre-determined research categories - Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, Clinical research, Management and Outcomes. Additional information has been collected on the type of study (human/animal) and the number of subjects included. Of the 8,836 articles initially retrieved, 3,466 (39%) included sex and gender-specific research and have been further analysed.ResultsLiterature incorporating sex/gender analysis increased over time and displays a stronger trend if compared to overall publication increase. All disciplines, but cardiology (22%), demonstrated an underrepresentation of research about gender differences in management, which ranges from 3 to 14%. While the use of animal models for identification of sex differences in basic research varies greatly among disciplines, studies involving human subjects are frequently conducted in large cohorts with more than 1,000 patients (24% of all human studies).ConclusionsHeterogeneity characterizes sex and gender-specific research. Although large cohorts are often analysed, sex and gender differences in clinical management are insufficiently investigated leading to potential inequalities in health provision and outcomes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of sex and gender-specific research reveals a common increase in publications and marked differences between disciplines

Oertelt‐Prigione

Parol

Krohn

et al. 2010

BMC Med

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“…For example, there is an excess of occupational accidents among males, and there may be preferential assignment of jobs with high perceived risk to males [Salminen et al, 1992]. Social roles and expectations also shape men's experience of work and its effects, and deserve consideration from researchers [Courtenay, 2000].Third, gender has not always been treated appropriately in studies of mixed populations [Dumais, 1992;Messing, 1992;Alexanderson, 1998a;Niedhammer et al, 2000;Punnett and Herbert, 2000]. Women and men have some differences in their biology, employment status, job and task assignments, and responsibilities and activities outside work, and all these may require adaptations of research protocols.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Be the fairest of them all: Challenges and recommendations for the treatment of gender in occupational health research

Messing

Punnett

Bond

et al. 2003

American J Industrial Med

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324

221

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Background Both women's and men's occupational health problems merit scientific attention. Researchers need to consider the effect of gender on how occupational health issues are experienced, expressed, defined, and addressed. More serious consideration of gender-related factors will help identify risk factors for both women and men. Methods The authors, who come from a number of disciplines (ergonomics, epidemiology, public health, social medicine, community psychology, economics, sociology) pooled their critiques in order to arrive at the most common and significant problems faced by occupational health researchers who wish to consider gender appropriately. Results This paper describes some ways that gender can be and has been handled in studies of occupational health, as well as some of the consequences. The paper also suggests specific research practices that avoid errors. Obstacles to gender-sensitive practices are considered. Conclusions Although gender-sensitive practices may be difficult to operationalize in some cases, they enrich the scientific quality of research and should lead to better data and ultimately to well-targeted prevention programs. Am. J. Ind. Med. 43:618-629, 2003. KEY WORDS: gender; sex; women; men; research methodology; epidemiology; ergonomics; confounding; effect modification; gender-based analysis INTRODUCTIONBoth women's and men's occupational health merit scientific attention. In the United States, women constitute 46% of the paid workforce [United States Department of Labor, 2002], and have one third of compensated occupational health and safety problems, resulting in 81% of claims on a per hour basis [McDiarmid and Gucer, 2001]. These injuries entail direct and indirect costs to workers and employers, as well as human suffering [deCarteret, 1994]. Therefore, appropriately including sex and gender is increasingly relevant for occupational health research. Although researchers are interested in developing studies involving these variables, they may not know exactly how to do this. This article supplies some suggestions. Many of the arguments presented here will apply to other sources of socially defined diversity such as age, race/ ethnicity, and social class [Krieger et al., 1993;Kilbom et al., 1997;Wegman, 1999; Chaturvedi, 2001]. Each of these factors has its own interactions with the work environment and health effects, but their discussion is beyond the scope of this paper.We have identified three types of problems in the way occupational health research has dealt with sex and gender. First, hazards in women's work have been underestimated [Rosenstock and Lee, 2000;Bäckman and Edling, 2001;London et al., 2002;McDiarmid and Gucer, 2001]. Women have been less often studied by occupational health scientists [Zahm et al., 1994;Messing, 1998a;Niedhammer et al., 2000]. Under-reporting and under-compensation, recognized problems in occupational health [Biddle et al., 1998;Davis et al., 2001;Harber et al., 2001], may be more of a problem for women [Lippel and Demers, 1996;Gluck and O...

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“…2001). In healthcare there is an increasing awareness of gender factors and possible gender bias in medical practice (Alexanderson 1999, Messing et al . 2003, Östlin & Danielsson 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gatekeepers in sickness insurance: a systematic review of the literature on practices of social insurance officers

Söderberg

Alexanderson

2005

Health Soc Care Community

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Decisions concerning entitlement to sickness benefits have a substantial impact on the lives of individuals and on society. In most countries, such decisions are made by staff of private or public insurance organisations. The work performed by these professionals is debated, hence more knowledge is needed on this subject. The aim of the present study was to review scientific studies of the practices of social insurance officers (SIOs) published in English, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. Studies were searched for in literature databases, in reference lists, and through personal contacts. Analyses were made of type of study, areas investigated, research questions, theories used, and the results. Sixteen studies were included. SIOs and several other actors are responsible for applying measures to minimise sick-leave and promote return to work (RTW). The studies focusing on coordination of such measures revealed that SIOs felt unsure about how to handle their contacts with clients and other actors. One study indicated that the SIOs, partly due to lack of time, accepted the recommendations of physicians instead of making their own judgments about granting sickness benefits. While all SIOs must make decisions concerning entitlement to sickness benefits on a daily basis, few of the reviewed studies scrutinised the actual granting of sickness compensation. The studies were also deficient in that they investigated the decision latitude of the SIOs from a very limited perspective, mainly on an individual level and often primarily in relation to colleagues and/or clients rather than to the laws and regulations of the sickness insurance. The concepts and framework in this area of research need to be developed to facilitate elucidation of the interaction between different actors in local spheres, professionals in different disciplines, and between welfare staff and individual citizens.

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An Assessment Protocol for Gender Analysis of Medical Literature

Cited by 12 publications

References 36 publications

Analysis of sex and gender-specific research reveals a common increase in publications and marked differences between disciplines

Analysis of sex and gender-specific research reveals a common increase in publications and marked differences between disciplines

Be the fairest of them all: Challenges and recommendations for the treatment of gender in occupational health research

Gatekeepers in sickness insurance: a systematic review of the literature on practices of social insurance officers

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