Abstract
BackgroundTo ascertain good and appropriate healthcare for both women and men implementation of gender perspectives in medical education is needed. For a successful implementation, knowledge about students' attitudes and beliefs about men, women, and gender is crucial. The aim of this study was to compare attitudes to gender and gender stereotyping among Dutch and Swedish male and female medical students.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we measured the attitudes and assumptions about gender among 1096 first year medical students (616 Dutch and 480 Swedish) with the validated Nijmegen Gender Awareness in Medicine Scale (N-GAMS). The response rate was 94% in the Netherlands and 93% in Sweden. Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the scores between Dutch and Swedish male and female students. Linear regressions were used to analyze the importance of the background variables.ResultsThere were significant differences in attitudes to gender between Dutch and Swedish students. The Swedish students expressed less stereotypical thinking about patients and doctors and the Dutch were more sensitive to gender differences. The students' sex mattered for gender stereotyping, with male students in both countries agreeing more with stereotypical statements. Students' age, father's birth country and mother's education level had some impact on the outcome.ConclusionsThere are differences between cultures as well as between men and women in gender awareness that need to be considered when implementing gender in medical education.This study suggests that to arouse the students' interest in gender issues and make them aware of the significance of gender in medical work, the examples used in discussions need to be relevant and challenging in the context of the specific country. Due to different levels of knowledge and different attitudes within the student population it is important to create a climate for dialogue where students feel permitted to disclose their ideas and attitudes in order to become aware of what these are as well as their possible consequences on interaction and decision-making in medical work.
Highlights
To ascertain good and appropriate healthcare for both women and men implementation of gender perspectives in medical education is needed
The students’ age ranged from 16 to 50 years (M = 21), the Swedish students were older than the Dutch (M = 23 years versus M = 19 years) and the age span was larger in Sweden
On Results The fact that the students in Nijmegen compared to the students in Umeå were more sensitive to gender differences and more gender stereotyping of patients and doctors might have different explanations
Summary
To ascertain good and appropriate healthcare for both women and men implementation of gender perspectives in medical education is needed. As the importance of gender in health care has become established knowledge, attention has been paid to the implementation of gender issues in medical schools. Research reports and political documents are pointing towards the need for gender perspectives in medical education in order to ascertain good and appropriate health care for both men and women and increase future doctors’ gender awareness [2,10]. Since gender-stereotypical thinking has the inherent risk of thwarting and biasing medical assessments, gender awareness implies reflecting on one’s own attitudes and preconceptions about men and women, patients as well as doctors and other staff [9,12]
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