Benchmarking sex and gender inclusion in Victorian research policy and university curricula
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Background
- Sex and gender impact our health yet there is a remarkable lack of understanding on this topic.
- For the sake of health equity, it is essential that everyone is adequately included in research and the development of health and medical advances.
- Proper training, guidelines and implementation are required to direct researchers and health care professionals to include sex and gender considerations.
- At stake is medical best practice and the delivery of optimal healthcare
Aims
- This 17-month project aims to assess how well sex and gender inclusion is integrated into Victorian university curricula for medicine, dentistry and nursing, and 27 allied health professions recognised by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (VicDoH). It will also review policies of health and medical research organisations.
- The study aims to identify gaps and propose a set of recommendations to the VicDoH for improvement. The findings will also be publicly disseminated through publication
Research Methodology
- Ethics-approved questionnaires are being circulated to assess the inclusion of sex and gender in university curricula and in policies of Victorian medical research organisations.
- A complementary approach involves the generation of an AI data mining tool to evaluate the inclusion of sex and gender in available university course information.
Impact
This research will provide a primary benchmark and define gaps regarding the status of sex and gender inclusion in university education and in medical research policies in Victoria.
- The defined baseline will enable measurement of future interventions such as steps to implement the AAMRI (2023) and NHMRC (2024) statements that encourage sex and gender inclusion in health and medical research.
- Our two-pronged approach compares survey-based insights with AI-driven data analysis, helping to assess both the depth of information each method provides and the cost-effectiveness of AI.
