Gender awareness among medical students in a Swiss University.

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State: Public
Version: Final published version
License: CC BY 4.0
Serval ID
serval:BIB_91B7ACFBDEFE
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Gender awareness among medical students in a Swiss University.
Journal
BMC medical education
Author(s)
Rrustemi I., Locatelli I., Schwarz J., Lagro-Janssen T., Fauvel A., Clair C.
ISSN
1472-6920 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
1472-6920
Publication state
Published
Issued date
03/06/2020
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
20
Number
1
Pages
156
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: epublish
Abstract
Gender is an important social determinant, that influences healthcare. The lack of awareness on how gender influences health might lead to gender bias and can contribute to substandard patient care. Our objectives were to assess gender sensitivity and the presence of gender stereotypes among swiss medical students.
A validated scale (N-GAMS - Nijmegen Gender Awareness in Medicine Scale), with 3 subscores assessing gender sensitivity (GS) and gender stereotypes toward patients (GRIP) and doctors (GRID) (ranging from 1 to 5), was translated into French and was distributed to all medical students registered at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland in April-May 2017. Reliability of the three subscales was assessed calculating the alpha Cronbach coefficient. Mean subscales were calculated for male and female students and compared using two sample t-tests. A linear model was built with each subscale as a dependent variable and students' sex and age as covariables.
In total, 396 students answered the N-GAMS questionnaire, their mean age was 22 years old, 62.6% of them were women. GS and GRID sub-scores were not significantly different between female and male students (GS 3.62 for women, 3.70 for men, p = 0.27, GRID 2.10 for women, 2.13 for men, p = 0.76). A statistically significant difference was found in the GRIP subscale, with a mean score of 1.83 for women and 2.07 for men (p < 0.001), which suggests a more gender stereotyped opinion toward patients among male students. A trend was observed with age, gender sensibility increased (p < 0.001) and stereotypes decreased (GRIP p = 0.04, GRID p = 0.02) with students getting older.
Medical students' gender sensitivity seems to improve throughout the medical curriculum, and women students have less stereotypes towards patients than men do. The implementation of a gender-sensitive teaching in the medical curriculum could improve students' knowledge, limit gender bias and improve patients' care.
Keywords
Gender, Gender bias, Gender stereotypes, Medical education
Pubmed
Open Access
Yes
Create date
10/06/2020 19:56
Last modification date
30/04/2021 6:12
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