Closing the Gap: Addressing Gender Inequities in Healthcare

Despite rapid advances in the field of medicine, the needs and physiology of women and girls continue to be overlooked within the healthcare system. Women have been excluded from research and are underserved in domains such as cardiac health. This Health Gap impacts the health and quality of life of all women, especially those in marginalized communities. This video highlights the healthcare inequities faced by women around the world, and proposes actions that can be taken by students, healthcare professionals, and citizens to close the Gender Health Gap. This video was made by McMaster Demystifying Medicine students Susanna MacLeod, Guneet Mahal, and Gursharan Mann. Copyright McMaster University 2020   References: Benoit, C., Shumka, L., Vallance, K., Hallgrímsdóttir, H., Phillips, R., Kobayashi, K., ... & Brief, E. (2009). Explaining the health gap experienced by girls and women in Canada: A social determinants of health perspective. Sociological Research Online, 14(5), 1-13.   Bierman AS, Ahmad F, Angus J, Glazier RH, Vahabi M, Damba C, Dusek J, Shiller SK, Li Y, Ross S, Shapiro G, Manuel D. Burden of Illness. In: Bierman AS, editor. Project for an Ontario Women's Health Evidence-Based Report: Volume 1: Toronto; 2009.  Bierman AS, Jaakkimainen RL, Abramson B, Kapral MK, Azad N, Hall R, Lindsay P, Honein G, Degani N. Cardiovascular Diseases. In: Bierman AS, editor. Project for an Ontario Women's Health Evidence-Based Report: Volume 1: Toronto; 2009.  Bierman AS, Johns A, Hyndman B, Mitchell C, Degani N, Shack AR, Creatore MI, Lofters AK, Urquia ML, Ahmad F, Khanlou N, Parlette V. Social Determinants of Health and Populations at Risk In: Bierman AS, editor. Project for an Ontario Women's Health Evidence-Based Report: Volume 2: Toronto; 2012.  Booth GL, Lipscombe LL, Bhattacharyya O, Feig DS, Shah BR, Degani N, Johns A, Ko B, Bierman AS. Diabetes. In: Bierman AS, editor. Project for an Ontario Women's Health Evidence-Based Report: Volume 2: Toronto; 2010.  Huxley, V. H. (2007). Sex and the cardiovascular system: the intriguing tale of how women and men regulate cardiovascular function differently. Advances in physiology education, 31(1), 17-22.  National Institutes of Health. (2020). How Sex/Gender Influence Health and Disease. https://orwh.od.nih.gov/sex-gender/se... National Institutes of Health. (2001). NIH policy and guidelines on the inclusion of women and minorities as subjects in clinical research. http://grants1. nih. gov/grants/funding/women_min/guidelines_amended_10_2001. Htm.  National Institutes of Health. (2020). Studying Sex to Strengthen Science. https://orwh.od.nih.gov/sites/orwh/fi... Sarto, G. E. (2004). The gender gap: new challenges in women's health. Sexuality, Reproduction and Menopause, 2(1), 9-14.  Samulowitz, A., Gremyr, I., Eriksson, E., & Hensing, G. (2018). “Brave men” and “emotional women”: A theory-guided literature review on gender bias in health care and gendered norms towards patients with chronic pain. Pain Research and Management, 2018. POWER Study—Project for an Ontario Women’s Health Evidence-Based Report. (2020). Retrieved September 26, 2020, from http://www.powerstudy.ca/  Women’s College Hospital—The Health Gap V2. (2016). The Health Gap. Retrieved September 26, 2020, from http://thehealthgap.ca/