Research Day
UNDERREPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN CLINICAL RESEARCH AND ITS OUTCOME
Document Type
Abstract
Date
2021
Abstract
Background: Women are traditionally underrepresented in medical studies, in particular, clinical research. Not only do women respond to specific treatments differently due to physiological differences, but they also have to deal with unique social stressors. Male patient narrative and men's response to medical care are often considered as the standard, even though these guidelines might not apply as well to women.
Objective: This project aims to explain how the disparity works in distinctive clinical scenarios, and how it influences the health outcomes of male versus female patients.
Methods: We examined a meta-analysis, several systemic reviews and expert pieces. We compared and contrasted symptoms and the success of the treatment in diseases including cardiovascular diseases, pain management, and mental illnesses. We looked at how female patients are treated in these scenarios compared to male patients.
Results: Women tend to receive less adequate care in most cases. They only represent 26.7% of clinical research subjects in cardiovascular diseases. Women tend to experience multiple pain simultaneously and have higher rates of musculoskeletal pain conditions. Data on substance use disorder is inconclusive. When it comes to mental health, women have higher prevalence of depression. Yet, women have lower rate of suicide completion of 21% versus 79%, most likely due to social factors.
Conclusion: There are still steps to be taken to improve female experiences when it comes to medical care. We should focus our efforts on changing medical research and education to increase discussion of female narratives.