Women Authors in Medicine: A Gender Based Study on Authorship Opportunities and its Implications in Promotions in Medicine

Obtaining first authorship in research and published papers is widely held as grounds for promotions and advancements in the medical field. However, the opportunities to be involved in research and to have the primary authorship position are not equally divided amongst specialties, including primary care. Women physicians are becoming a greater percentage of the workforce in primary care, including Internal Medicine and the potential lack of opportunity for authorship may disproportionately affect their promotion. This poster presents the preliminary research on an investigation into the Indiana University School of Medicine’s Department of Medicine gender authorship profiles in the last five years. By utilizing the search engine scopus, a database of the papers written by physicians was created, and gender identifications of the first, second, and last author was made to find correlations between gender and authorship positions. These results will be used to make a case for reexamining the qualifications for promotions, and ensuring that genders have equal opportunity for job advancement and leadership in the medical field.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/sexandgenderhealth/1014/thumbnail.jp

The Great Gender Divide: Gender-related discrepancies of N95 mask protection

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare professionals are at increased risk of transmission due to their direct contact with infected patients. To ensure protection, properly fitting personal protective equipment (PPE) must be worn. N95 respirator masks are a component of PPE outlined by the CDC for COVID-19; however, N95 masks do not offer protection if they do not fit properly. Fit testing is performed to ensure adequate seal of the mask and proper fit. Objective: The objective of this project was to attempt to identify a gender-related difference in fittesting failure rates. Methods: A single institutional retrospective review was performed on individuals who underwent fit testing from December 2019 to June 2020. Two mask sizes were available for fit testing (Model 3M1860, Regular/Small). Fit test results were divided into two groups, male or female, and evaluated for failure rates. Reasons for fit test failures were noted as: large-boned, small-boned, facial asymmetry, facial hair, and/or no reason reported. Exclusion criterion included failure due to facial hair. Results: A total of 336 tests were performed during this period, with 31 exclusions for facial hair. Data analyzed included 305 total respirator fit test results: 110 male and 195 female. Females fail at signifcantly higher rates, 6.67%, compared to males, 2.27% (p=0.001). Specifcally, females failed due to being small-boned when compared to reasons for male fit testing failures (p\u3c0.0001). Conclusion: Gender-related differences in PPE fit is not new; however, the COVID- 19 pandemic has made the situation more acute. Females are faced with wearing masks that do not properly fit; N95 masks were not designed for female facial dimensions and because of inadequate fit, female healthcare workers are not properly protected. Developing a gender-specifc approach to designing N95 masks is vital in the upcoming months, as a potential second wave of COVID-19 is approaching.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/sexandgenderhealth/1004/thumbnail.jp

The impact of sex and gender in health and disease: an elective

Presentation: 6:12 Historically, “women’s health” has referred to health issues relating strictly to reproduction. The last decade has witnessed an exponential increase in research and understanding of the important role biological sex and gender identity play in health and disease. Sex and gender based differences have been found in nearly every aspect of medicine: most well known among them are differences in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Much of what we know about pathophysiology and pharmacology is limited by research that has been and continues to be performed mainly in male models. The IU National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health Sex and Gender elective provides an overview of sex and gender specific clinical medicine within a systems-based curriculum. The elective focuses on each body system, where the student explores sex-based differences in epidemiology, pathophysiology, treatment, pharmacology, and outcomes as well as the role gender identity plays as a social determinant of disease. The overarching goal of the rotation is to integrate sex and gender-based evidence into existing curricula, both internal to and external to IUSM. By the end of the elective, the students contribute to the research and development of sex and gender educational tools that can be used to in our current educational programs and beyond. The student also participates in clinical programs with the IUNCOE Women\u27s Wellness on Wheels program, attends clinical sessions in the IUHP Glendale primary care, and attends educational programs throughout the institution to help define best practices that incorporate sex and gender. Completed projects include slide sets created for the Laura Bush Institute for Sex and Gender, written articles on the impact of sex and gender on cardiovascular health, and completed research projects on diversity.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/sexandgenderhealth/1013/thumbnail.jp