Reflecting on Progress in and Establishing Benchmarks for Sex and Gender Health Education.

ABSTRACT: Sex and gender influence every aspect of human health; thus, sex- and gender-related topics should be incorporated in all aspects of health education curricula. Sex and gender health education (SGHE) is the rigorous, intersectional, data-driven integration of sex and gender into all elements of health education. A multisectoral group of thought leaders has collaborated to advance SGHE since 2012. This cross-sector collaboration to advance SGHE has been successful on several fronts, primarily developing robust interprofessional SGHE programs, hosting a series of international SGHE summits, developing sex- and gender-specific resources, and broadening the collaboration beyond medical education. However, other deeply entrenched challenges have proven more difficult to address, including accurate and consistent sex and gender reporting in research publications, broadening institutional support for SGHE, and the development and implementation of evaluation plans for assessing learner outcomes and the downstream effects of SGHE on patient care. This commentary reflects on progress made in SGHE over the first decade of the current collaboration (2012-2022), articulates a vision for next steps to advance SGHE, and proposes 4 benchmarks to guide the next decade of SGHE: (1) integrate sex, gender, and intersectionality across health curricula; (2) develop sex- and gender-specific resources for health professionals; (3) improve sex and gender reporting in research publications; and (4) develop evaluation plans to assess learner and patient outcomes.

Sex and Gender Health Educational Tenets: A Report from the 2020 Sex and Gender Health Education Summit.

Background: Sex as a biological variable and gender as a sociocultural variable influence many health conditions and outcomes. However, they have not been incorporated systematically into education across health professions. Methods: Areas of knowledge and abilities that apply to sex and gender education across health professions were summarized from the 2015 and 2018 Sex and Gender Health Education Summits. Results: Using this summary, draft tenets were developed by facilitated interprofessional discussion groups at the 2020 Summit, and then reviewed, edited, and refined by a writing group who recommended four tenets that health care professionals should be able to do: (1) demonstrate knowledge of sex and gender specific health (SGSH), (2) evaluate literature and the conduct of research for incorporation of sex and gender, (3) incorporate sex and gender considerations into clinical decision making, and (4) demonstrate patient advocacy with respect to sex and gender. Conclusion: These tenets provide the framework for collaborative interprofessional education about SGSH. Individual professions can also use the tenets to develop practice-specific competencies, competency statements, and/or assessment benchmarks within the structures of their respective accrediting bodies to advance the health of women, men, and sex and gender minority persons. Interprofessional collaborations are key for sharing best practices in development, curricular integration, and dissemination.

Sex and Gender Health Education Summit: Advancing Curricula Through a Multidisciplinary Lens.

Introduction: The Sex and Gender Health Education (SGHE) Summit was a national collaboration that engaged educational thought leaders from various health professions to advance curricula by integrating sex- and gender-based evidence into health education. Materials and Methods: The SGHE Summit was held over a 2.5-day period April 2018 at the University of Utah. Pre- and postsummit surveys assessed attitudinal and knowledge changes. Results: A total of 246 health care professionals and trainees from U.S. and International Institutions attended. One hundred fifty-seven presummit surveys and 115 postsummit surveys were completed. Postsummit beliefs: SGHE is critical to precision medicine (100%); it is essential to include female animals in preclinical research studies (96%); sex and gender concepts could be used to improve men's health (99%). A teaching tool summarizes the initial questions to consider in SGHE. Conclusion: The SGHE Summit was the first multiprofessional large-scale national effort focused on the integration of sex and gender knowledge into the education of all health professionals. Summit participants now represent a national network of educators and clinicians who recognize the centrality of sex and gender to health professionals' knowledge and practice. These educational efforts will ultimately ensure a more personalized health care delivery.

Sex and Gender Medical Education Summit: a roadmap for curricular innovation.

The Sex and Gender Medical Education Summit: a roadmap for curricular innovation was a collaborative initiative of the American Medical Women's Association, Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health, Mayo Clinic, and Society for Women's Health Research (www.sgbmeducationsummit.com). It was held on October 18-19, 2015 to provide a unique venue for collaboration among nationally and internationally renowned experts in developing a roadmap for the incorporation of sex and gender based concepts into medical education curricula. The Summit engaged 148 in-person attendees for the 1 1/2-day program. Pre- and post-Summit surveys assessed the impact of the Summit, and workshop discussions provided a framework for informal consensus building. Sixty-one percent of attendees indicated that the Summit had increased their awareness of the importance of sex and gender specific medicine. Other comments indicate that the Summit had a significant impact for motivating a call to action among attendees and provided resources to initiate change in curricula within their home institutions. These educational efforts will help to ensure a sex and gender basis for delivery of health care in the future.

Improving Medical Education Using a Sex- and Gender-Based Medicine Lens.

Sex- and Gender-Based Medicine (SGBM) is an emerging discipline within healthcare research, education, and practice. It addresses both the similarities and differences in men and women and it considers both biological and sociocultural factors that impact on the health of all individuals. On a basic level, sex refers to biology and gender refers to sociocultural factors. SGBM emerged after a body of knowledge had been established about health differences between women and men. However, these differences are not consistently considered and misperceptions are propagated when translations from the bench to the bedside are based on a predominantly one-sex model. Medical curricula are not yet integrating the evidence of sex and gender across students' educational experiences. We propose adopting a sex and gender lens to enable physicians and students to critically examine the scientific evidence and assess its applicability to specific patients. A Sex and Gender Medical Education Summit was held in 2015 to create a roadmap for integrating SGBM into medical education. We present examples that led to successful integration of SGBM in U.S. medical schools, as well as resources for medical educators and researchers, so that the health of both women and men can be positively impacted.