Abstract
BackgroundGender bias within medical education is gaining increasing attention. However, valid and reliable measures are needed to adequately address and monitor this issue. This research conducts a psychometric evaluation of a short multidimensional scale that assesses medical students’ awareness of gender bias, beliefs that gender bias should be addressed, and experience of gender bias during medical education.MethodsUsing students from the University of Wollongong, one pilot study and two empirical studies were conducted. The pilot study was used to scope the domain space (n = 28). This initial measure was extended to develop the Gender Bias in Medical Education Scale (GBMES). For Study 1 (n = 172), confirmatory factor analysis assessed the construct validity of the three-factor structure (awareness, beliefs, experience) and enabled deletion of redundant items. Study 2 (n = 457) tested the generalizability of the refined scale to a new sample. Combining Study 1 and 2, invariance testing for program of study and gender was explored. The relationship of the GBMES to demographic and gender politics variables was tested. The results were analyzed in R using confirmatory factor analysis and Multiple-Indicator-Multiple-Indicator-Cause models.ResultsAfter analysis of the responses from the original 16-item GBMES (Study 1), a shortened measure of ten items fitted the data well (RMSEA = .063; CFI = .965; TLI = .951; Mean R-square of items = 58.6 %; reliability: .720–.910) and was found to generalize to a new sample in Study 2 (RMSEA = .068; CFI = .952; TLI = .933; Mean R-square of items = 55.9 %; reliability: .711–.892). The GBMES was found to be invariant across studies, gender, and program of study. Female students and those who supported gender equality had greater agreement for each of the factors. Likewise, postgraduate students reported higher scores on experience of gender bias than undergraduate students.ConclusionThe GBMES provides a validated short multidimensional measure for use in research and policy. Given its good reliability across different target populations and its concise length, the GBMES has much potential for application in research and education to assess students’ attitudes towards gender bias.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0774-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Gender bias within medical education is gaining increasing attention
We suggest that research into gender bias in medical education must consider students awareness of gender bias, and their experiences of gender bias, and their beliefs about how gender bias should be addressed
As a result of a pilot study and two empirical studies, we developed a final 10-item measure named the Gender Bias in Medical Education Scale (GBMES) that showed good construct validity and reliability
Summary
Gender bias within medical education is gaining increasing attention. valid and reliable measures are needed to adequately address and monitor this issue. This research conducts a psychometric evaluation of a short multidimensional scale that assesses medical students’ awareness of gender bias, beliefs that gender bias should be addressed, and experience of gender bias during medical education. Gender bias in medicine commonly occurs through the unequal treatment and diagnosis of a patient based on their sex and/or gender [4,5,6]. Stereotypical assumption about gender, as well as a lack of research and knowledge about sex-based differences, are forms of gender bias that can negatively affect the medical diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients [7,8,9,10]. The closest measure is the Dutch Nijmegen Gender Awareness in Medicine Scale (N-GAMS) [12], which does not target issues related to medical education.
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