Sex and Gender Health Educational Tenets: A Report from the 2020 Sex and Gender Health Education Summit

Abstract

Background: Sex as a biological variable and gender as a sociocultural variable influence many health conditions and outcomes. However, they have not been incorporated systematically into education across health professions. Methods: Areas of knowledge and abilities that apply to sex and gender education across health professions were summarized from the 2015 and 2018 Sex and Gender Health Education Summits. Results: Using this summary, draft tenets were developed by facilitated interprofessional discussion groups at the 2020 Summit, and then reviewed, edited, and refined by a writing group who recommended four tenets that health care professionals should be able to do: (1) demonstrate knowledge of sex and gender specific health (SGSH), (2) evaluate literature and the conduct of research for incorporation of sex and gender, (3) incorporate sex and gender considerations into clinical decision making, and (4) demonstrate patient advocacy with respect to sex and gender. Conclusion: These tenets provide the framework for collaborative interprofessional education about SGSH. Individual professions can also use the tenets to develop practice-specific competencies, competency statements, and/or assessment benchmarks within the structures of their respective accrediting bodies to advance the health of women, men, and sex and gender minority persons. Interprofessional collaborations are key for sharing best practices in development, curricular integration, and dissemination.

Reflecting on Progress in and Establishing Benchmarks for Sex and Gender Health Education

“…That is, each health profession has unique language, categorizations, and accreditation standards associated with sex and gender content. The Sex and Gender Health Educational Tenets, which emerged from the 2020 SGHE summit, address the diversity of professional needs and provide common language that can be used by all health professionals, regardless of the specific discipline or training program 17 . Medical students frequently lead the charge for curricular change, 44,45 and we are supportive of expanding opportunities such as the AMWA’s Sex and Gender Health Collaborative to encourage students to lead the development of curricular SGHE resources.…”

“…The first SGHE summit in 2015 focused specifically on SGHE in medical school curricula; subsequent summits were intentionally interprofessional and included representatives from dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, physical and occupational therapy, and public health 15 . For example, the 2018, 2020, and 2021 summits focused on competency domains and accreditation requirements across the health professions, 16 interprofessional collaboration and core tenets for SGHE, 17 and the intersectionality of sex and gender with other social and structural determinants of health, respectively 18…”

“…However, despite the well-documented substantive influences of sex and gender on health, these concepts remain siloed and underdeveloped in medical, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, and other allied health professions curricula. 12,13 15 For example, the 2018, 2020, and 2021 summits focused on competency domains and accreditation requirements across the health professions, 16 interprofessional collaboration and core tenets for SGHE, 17 and the intersectionality of sex and gender with other social and structural determinants of health, respectively. 18 SGHE is the rigorous, intersectional, data-driven integration of sex and gender into all elements of health education.…”