By promoting the incorporation of sex and gender into the design of research proposals, CIHR is improving the relevance of findings for women and men
June 26, 2014 – Ottawa – Canadian Institutes of Health Research
More researchers submitting applications to Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) are including sex and gender considerations in their proposals, according to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE. The study was co-authored by Dr. Joy Johnson, Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health (IGH). Dr. Johnson and her colleagues examined the effect of a mandatory requirement introduced by CIHR in 2010 in which researchers were asked to reply to questions regarding the consideration of sex and gender factors in their proposal. The results showed that 48% of applicants responded affirmatively in December 2011, compared to 26% in December 2010. This trend varied by discipline, with biomedical researchers being least likely to account for sex and gender, clinical researchers being most likely to account for sex, and population health researchers being most likely to account for gender.
Research that fails to account for sex and gender can result in costly knowledge gaps. Integrating the concepts of sex and gender in research makes it possible to produce more accurate, effective, and relevant findings to inform the development of drugs, treatments and health interventions that apply equally to both men and women.
The study's results suggest that mandatory questions are one way of encouraging the uptake of sex and gender in health research; however, there remain persistent disparities across disciplines. These disparities represent opportunities for policy intervention by health research funders. CIHR is currently developing a suite of training materials on sex and gender for health researchers and peer reviewers, building on past initiatives such as the IGH gender, sex and health research casebook.
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