Navigating the dynamic field of gender and health
During the first edition of the Gender in Research summer school Tessa Magnée learnt that taking sex and gender into account in research goes beyond focusing on the biological differences between the sexes; social and cultural gender differences are also important. Together with classmate Aranka Ballering, they reflect on lessons learned.
Aranka Ballering has now joined Ghent University as a postdoctoral researcher, but she was a PhD student at the time of the summer school. Aranka shares the following: ‘The summer school was about more than just the concepts of sex and gender, it also covered how sex and gender influence health, and we learned how to operationalise these concepts in research.’ For ZonMw, the latter was precisely the reason for setting up their Gender in Research workshops and for supporting new researchers in their development as scientists. ‘Many researchers want to, but simply do not know how to,’ explains Carine Stroet, who was involved in the creation of the Gender in Research course as a programme manager at ZonMw.
Definitions of sex and gender
We use the term sex to denote the biological and physiological differences between people and between animals, in terms of their hormones, chromosomes and reproductive organs, for example. Gender refers to certain socioculturally determined differences between people, such as roles, behaviour, expression and identity. Read more about the definitions.
So what CAN you do?
Aranka Ballering shares what was most memorable for her: ‘I learned that the field of sex- and gender-sensitive medicine is extremely dynamic. The concept of gender and how we use it is constantly evolving, and that affects how we include gender in our research.’ And one thing she learned she continues to apply to this day, ‘which is of course the use of the SAGER guidelines I was made aware of during the programme! The summer school also taught me something else, namely that there is no gold standard for the integration of sex and gender in research. So you have to be explicit in how you go about it. Since the summer school, I have always been clear about the ‘who’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ when it comes to sex and gender in my research.’
Since the summer school, I have always been clear about the ‘who’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ when it comes to sex and gender in my research.
When you have the knowledge but lack the tools to apply it
Carine Stroet: ‘Conducting gender-sensitive research is relatively new in health and healthcare. Even more so when we launched the Gender and Health knowledge programme, which is why we were looking for ways to assist researchers. The result was the partnership with Erasmus MC, because they had already been teaching a course on female health for several years, and also had an existing infrastructure with the Erasmus Summer Programme. By joining forces we were able to offer an in-depth range of courses offering both specialised knowledge and practical tools around the themes of sex and gender in health, healthcare and research.’
Keep the individual in mind
Tessa Magnée joined Aranka Ballering and others during the first edition of the summer school. At the time of her participation, she was employed as a researcher at IVO, but she has since joined Nivel as a researcher into general practice care and mental healthcare. She shares some of her experiences: ‘What can be challenging about research in which you take aspects of diversity into account, is not losing sight of the individual. Because although it is important to have knowledge of general differences, it is equally important to consider individuals.’
Consider societal factors as well
Magnée also does not lose sight of the importance of people’s environments: ‘I try to resist the reflex to primarily approach mental health issues from a biological perspective, because the role that societal factors can play, such as sexual violence or discrimination based on sex or gender, should not be underestimated.’
Stronger together
During the summer school, both Magnée and Ballering felt connected to the other participants and the lecturers. Magnée: ‘My favourite memory of the summer school programme was the feeling of a joint effort and shared determination among participants and lecturers to tackle sex- and gender-related issues in healthcare.’ In terms of great memories of the summer school, Ms Ballering mentions that visiting the Euromast with colleagues and seeing the great views of Rotterdam comes in a close second. But for her, building a network of like-minded researchers definitely takes the top spot.
Erasmus Summer Programme
Each year, the Erasmus Summer Programme offers hundreds of students, researchers and professionals from the healthcare sector the opportunity to boost their scientific careers. The Gender and Health course, coordinated by Erasmus MC, offers participants the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the latest knowledge on the influence of sex and gender on men’s and women’s health during various life stages through lectures by a variety of Dutch and international speakers.
The Gender in Research workshops are coordinated by ZonMw and focus on improving the skills of new researchers in conducting health research from a sex and gender perspective.
