Gender medicine: a cross-sectional survey on knowledge and curriculum among Italian medical students

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Gender and sex are important predictors of many attitudes and behaviours that have an impact on health and disease. Gender medicine is then a fundamental approach for better quality of care in Europe. Few information is available on Italian medical students and their knowledge about gender medicine. Our study aimed to investigate knowledge about gender medicine in a sample of Italian medical students in order to identify specific knowledge gaps and improve Medicine degree curricula. Methods In 2020, an online cross-sectional survey was conducted on 430 medical students of the University of Turin, Italy. Participants filled out a questionnaire consisting of 29 items concerning the areas of knowledge and attitudes regarding gender medicine. Multivariable logistic regression model was performed to explore potential predictors of knowledge among students. Results More than 60% of the students knew the correct definition of gender medicine and around 90% of them knew the difference between sex and gender. In total, 58.16% of female students had a good level of knowledge, significantly more than male students (37,5%; p < 0.001); female students also showed a higher mean score compared to male students (respectively 17.96±2.75 vs 16.59±3.20, p < 0.001). Using a multivariate linear regression model, with level of knowledge about gender medicine used as a continuous variable, we found that being female was the only potential predictor of high consideration of gender medicine in patient management. Conclusions The results indicate that students have a good knowledge and high regard for gender medicine. Female students seem more aware of the importance of gender medicine and areas of improvement can be identified. Future European physicians must consider gender medicine in order to encourage a patient-tailored approach and to reduce gender gap still existent in current practice. Key messages Gender medicine is a fundamental approach to improve quality of care and to reduce gender gap among European patients. Medical students should be more aware and trained about gender and sex differences during clinical practice in order to encourage a patient-tailored medicine.