Integrating gender perspectives in gynecology and obstetrics: Engaging medical colleges in Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Failure to acknowledge the impact of sex and gender differences affects the quality of health care provision, and is an impediment to reducing health inequities. Systematic efforts were initiated in Maharashtra, India for reducing these disparities by developing gender‐integrated curricula in undergraduate (UG) medical education between 2015 and 2018. A review of UG obstetrics and gynecology curricula indicated a lack of gender lens and focus on the reproductive rights of women. Based on these gaps, a gender‐integrated curriculum was developed, implemented, and tested with medical students. Significant positive attitudes were seen among male and female students for themes such as access to safe abortion; understanding reproductive health concerns and their complex relationship with gender roles; violence against women as a health issue; and sexuality and health. These results strengthened the resolve to advocate for such a curriculum to be integrated across all medical colleges in the state.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of health care providers trained in responding to violence against women: a pre- and post-intervention study

“…The study was carried out at three tertiary medical teaching hospitals: Aurangabad Government Medical College, Aurangabad and Miraj Government Medical College and Sangli District Hospital. These facilities were identified based on their participation in a prior collaborative project with CEHAT on integrating gender within medical education [ 34 ], implemented in these and five other hospitals in the state of Maharashtra. The selected hospitals were attached to the medical colleges that had performed best in terms of integrating modules on gender in pre- service curriculum.…”

Sexual and reproductive health teaching in undergraduate medical education: A narrative review

“…Most articles assessed medical schools in the United States of America (USA) 2–33 . Additional studies reported sexual and reproductive health education from around the world including Angola, 34 Australia, 35–37 Canada, 38–40 China, 41 the Democratic Republic of Congo, 42 India, 43–45 Iran, 46 Nepal, 47 the Netherlands, 48 Pakistan, 49,50 Turkey, 51 and the United Kingdom 52–54 . Our review largely revealed studies at single medical schools.…”

“…16,17,21 Thirty-one studies reported student responses about their knowledge on, perceptions of, or experiences with, sexual and reproductive health teaching . [2][3][4][5]8,9,[13][14][15]18,19,24,[32][33][34][35][36][38][39][40][41]43,44,[46][47][48][49][51][52][53]55,56 Five studies provided insights from medical educators about their experiences with contraception and abortion education. 7,23,48,49,53 Two qualitative studies explored student perspectives on sexual and reproductive health education.…”

“…1 Abortion Twenty-two studies discussed abortion care in medical education . 3,6,7,9,10,15,19,20,[24][25][26]29,30,[37][38][39]43,45,46,51,55,56 Some studies described specific education teaching approaches 15,38,43 while others assessed student perceptions of abortion education. 30,37,39,55,56 One study described a rotation developed by students to provide abortion education in the preclinical years.…”

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of refugee and migrant women: gynecologists’ and obstetricians’ responsibilities

“…Prejudice and limited awareness of SRHR on the part of healthcare workers exacerbate discriminatory care. This should be counteracted by including SRHR for women in general, and for refugees specifically, as a topic in undergraduate and postgraduate curricula and in the education of healthcare providers . Governments must commit to providing non‐discriminatory care for refugees in their countries in alignment with SDGs 3 (ensure healthy lives and well‐being), 5 (achieve gender equality and empower women) and 10 (reduce inequality), and providers must put this into practice.…”