Abstract
BackgroundIntegrating a sex and gender lens is increasingly recognized as important in health research studies. Past failures to adequately consider sex in drug development, for example, led to medications that were metabolized differently, proved harmful, or ineffective, for females. Including both males and females in study populations is important but not sufficient; health, access to healthcare, and treatment provided are also influenced by gender, the socially mediated roles, responsibilities, and behaviors of boys, girls, women and men. Despite understanding the relevance of sex and gender to health research, integrating this lens into study designs can still be challenging. Identified here, are nine opportunities to address sex and gender and thereby strengthen research proposals.MethodsOntario investigators were invited to submit a draft of their health research proposal to the Sex and Gender Research Support Service (SGRSS) at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, Ontario. The service works to build capacity on the integration of sex, gender, and other identity factors, in health research. Using the SAGER Guidelines and the METRICS for the Study of Sex and Gender in Human Participants as guides, proposals were reviewed to enhance their sex and gender considerations. Content analysis of the feedback provided these investigators was subsequently completed.ResultsNearly 100 hundred study proposals were reviewed and investigators provided with suggestions on how to enhance their proposal. Analyzing the feedback provided across the reviewed studies revealed commonly overlooked opportunities to elevate consideration of sex and gender. These were organized into nine suggestions to mirror the sections of a research proposal.ConclusionHealth researchers are often challenged on how to integrate a sex and gender lens into their work. Reviews completed across a range of health research studies show there are several commonly overlooked opportunities to do better in this regard. Nine ways to improve the integration of a sex and gender lens in health research proposals have been identified.
Highlights
Integrating a sex and gender lens is increasingly recognized as important in health research studies
Doing so increases the relevance and applicability of health research findings to a wider swath of the population and ensures research investments achieve maximum benefit [5]. Increasing recognition of this is evident in requirements enacted by funding bodies such as the American National Institutes of Health and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), that applicants explain how sex and/or gender are considered in their study, or provide convincing reasons for why doing so would be inappropriate
The content analysis revealed that all of the investigators had missed opportunities to integrate a sex and gender lens and that these ‘missed opportunities’, occurred fairly consistently across the diverse studies. The missed opportunities resulted in the identification of nine ways to enhance considerations of sex and gender, as well as other intersecting identity factors, in a research proposal
Summary
Integrating a sex and gender lens is increasingly recognized as important in health research studies. Past failures to adequately consider sex in drug development, for example, led to medications that were metabolized differently, proved harmful, or ineffective, for females. Including both males and females in study populations is important but not sufficient; health, access to healthcare, and treatment provided are influenced by gender, the socially mediated roles, responsibilities, and behaviors of boys, girls, women and men. 2. In the literature review, note whether past studies integrated a sex and gender lens and included equal or proportional representation of males and females, disaggregated data for analysis, and presented findings by sex, irrespective of whether or not differences were found. The concluding sentence of this section can note sex and gender related gaps and strengthen the rationale for the proposed study
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
