This module examines disparities in medicine and their effect on patient outcomes, with particular attention to how gender, race, and sexual and gender identity intersect to shape care. Participants will explore the historical exclusion of women from clinical research and how it produced a lasting gender data gap in diagnosis, treatment, and drug safety. The module also considers how the identity of both patients and healthcare professionals, including gender, race, and sexual orientation, shapes access to timely, equitable care. By the end of this module, participants will be able to recognize where these disparities occur in clinical practice and apply communication strategies and practice patterns to help reduce them.
Learning Objectives
Explore how the exclusion of women and other gender minorities from clinical research has contributed to a gender data gap, including how the concept of “bikini medicine” has shaped pharmaceutical development and evidence-based treatment strategies for women.
Discuss how patient identity, including gender, race, and sexual orientation, influences the delivery of timely, equitable healthcare.
Discuss how diversity within the healthcare workforce, including the gender, racial, and sexual identity of healthcare professionals, influences the delivery of effective, equitable care.
Recognize and implement communication strategies and clinical practice patterns to help reduce gender disparities in care.
The following resources serve as the core materials for this module, ranging from scoping reviews to practical management guides:
Objective 1: The Data Gap
Objective 2: Patient Identity and Care
Objective 3: Provider Identity and Care
Objective 4: Strategies to Reduce Gender Disparities in Care
General Discussion Questions:
In your own experience as a patient, have you noticed certain practices, whether from male or female healthcare professionals, which made you feel more listened to or more likely to continue engaging with that healthcare system? Reflect on these experiences.
Reflect on your own practice patterns and institutional policies. What is one one specific step you will take in your practice to promote gender-equitable care (e.g., adjusting communication style, questioning assumptions or seeking out additional education)
Objective-Specific Discussion Questions