In November 2021, at the Sex and Gender Health Education Summit, Dr. Marilene Melo from Brazil shared information about efforts by Brazilian women physicians to champion sex and gender based medicine in São Paulo State. They printed 500,000 brochures which were then distributed across medical schools, to politicians, in churches, and among women’s health advocacy groups. These efforts led to a mandate by law that sex and gender-based medicine be taught in the 40 medical schools in São Paulo State. This session was part of an international panel organized by AMWA past presidents, Dr. Claudia Morrissey and Dr. Janice Werbinski.
In the U.S. there has also been growing awareness of the importance of sex and gender specific healthcare. AMWA, a leader in the women’s health education movement, has also been a champion of sex and gender specific healthcare, an outgrowth of the women’s health movement. AMWA co-founded the Sex and Gender Health Collaborative in 2008 and co-organized a series of Sex and Gender Health Education Summits from 2015-2021. AMWA has partnered with iGIANT (Impact of Gender and sex on Innovation and Novel Technologies) to host a series of roundtables and summits. AMWA has also promoted awareness of curricula from groups such as the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health and the Laura W. Bush Institute of Women’s Health and supported the publication of the textbook How Sex and Gender Impact Clinical Practice.
Integration of sex and gender health concepts within medical curricula has increased but is still not uniformly adopted. Taking inspiration from our Brazilian colleagues within the Medical Women’s International Association, AMWA is launching a campaign within the healthcare community to achieve 500,000 digital views of an infographic produced by the NIH Office on Women’s Health “How Sex and Gender Influence Health and Disease,” and encourage commitment statements from individuals, organizations, and institutions. We invite partners to join in these efforts.
VIEW THE FLIER HERE.
Please join us in improving healthcare by increasing awareness of sex and gender differences. Forward this link to your network and colleagues.
Get involved and join AMWA’s Sex and Gender Health Collaborative.
