Abstract
Sex and gender have been demonstrated to influence all domains of health, from basic mechanisms of disease development to health service utilization. It is therefore no longer acceptable to ignore sex and gender issues in health research reports if these reports are to be deemed accurate. Funding agencies and journals have been identified as primary change agents in health research systems. Canada is making progress on the funding side of the equation - applicants to Canada’s federal health research funding agency are required to justify why sex and gender are relevant or not to their research designs. We argue that it is now time for Canada’s leading health research journals to follow suit. We have a unique opportunity in Canada to demonstrate leadership in doing science better with sex and gender - and we should not let it be missed.
Résumé
Il est prouvé que le sexe et le genre influencent la santé sous tous ses aspects: des mécanismes fondamentaux de l’évolution des maladies à l’utilisation des services de santé. Il n’est donc plus acceptable de faire abstraction du sexe et de la problématique homme-femmes dans les rapports de recherche en santé si l’on veut qu’ils reflètent la réalité. Les organismes de financement et les revues sont reconnus comme étant les principaux agents de changement dans le système de recherche en santé. Le Canada fait des progrès du côté financier de l’équation - les demandeurs auprès de l’organisme fédéral canadien qui finance la recherche en santé sont tenus d’expliquer la pertinence (ou non) du sexe et du genre dans leur modèles de recherche. Nous faisons valoir qu’il est temps pour les grandes revues de recherche en santé du Canada d’emboîter le pas. Nous avons une occasion unique, au Canada, de faire preuve de leadership en améliorant la science par le sexe et le genre; il ne faudrait pas laisser échapper cette occasion.
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Johnson, J.L., Beaudet, A. Sex and Gender Reporting in Health Research: Why Canada Should Be a Leader. Can J Public Health 104, e80–e81 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03405660
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03405660