The Women’s Brain Foundation (WBF), a pioneer in promoting the integration of sex- and gender-based evidence into healthcare since 2017, has teamed up with Medscape Education, a leading provider of medical education, to launch an innovative learning centre focused on exploring the complexities of sex and gender differences in brain and mental health. This initiative serves as a natural progression from previous WBF forums, which highlighted the crucial need to integrate sex and gender considerations into all areas of medical research, drug development, and clinical practice.
Addressing High Unmet Needs
The newly launched learning centre is part of the “Medscape Essentials” initiative, illustrating Medscape’s commitment to addressing high-priority areas within medical education. Notably, Medscape self-funded one-third of its continuing and independent medical education activities in the past year. The latest WBF Forum seeks to increase awareness and comprehension among healthcare professionals about the notable differences in brain health between genders by facilitating insightful discussions with leading experts in the field.
This initiative aims to shed light on the significant disparities in neurologic and psychiatric disorders between women and men, an aspect that has long been neglected in both research and clinical practice.
Importance of Understanding Differences
“This initiative is vital,” stated Antonella Santucionne Chadha, MD, PhD, founder and pro bono CEO of the WBF. It is essential for healthcare professionals to be aware of the inherent biases affecting the prevalence and incidence of various diseases. Many conditions tend to present and develop differently in women compared to men. Moreover, the effectiveness and safety of treatments can vary considerably for women. Collaborating with a platform like Medscape is crucial to our work, as it can help us accelerate necessary changes in clinical practice. Our goal is to bring this vital evidence directly into the clinic, and the Medscape platform can facilitate that.
Neurologic disorders present a significant global health challenge, affecting approximately one in three individuals worldwide. The latest findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study indicate that neurological disorders rank as the primary cause of disability and the second leading cause of death worldwide. Both sex and gender play vital, independent roles in shaping health outcomes and disease progression. While sex differences impact disease prevalence, presentations, and treatment responses, gender differences encompassing socially constructed roles, behaviours, and individual identities also significantly influence health behaviours and disease outcomes. Unfortunately, the exploration of sex and gender differences in brain health remains under-researched.
Bridging Educational Gaps
“S. Christy Rohani-Montez, PhD, Director of Clinical Strategy at Medscape Education, stated, ‘This Medscape Essentials programme is vital for revealing sex and gender disparities that have traditionally favoured male participants in neuroscience research, frequently neglecting to consider sex as an important variable. Medscape’s commitment to bridging educational gaps in these key areas aligns with our values surrounding health equity and our mission to serve as the most trusted and valued source of health information and education throughout a healthcare professional’s career.
Boasting a membership of over 13 million healthcare professionals worldwide, Medscape Education is in a prime position to spearhead efforts in identifying and tackling sex and gender disparities within the healthcare sector. This initiative, concentrating on inequalities in neurological and psychiatric conditions, marks a crucial advancement towards promoting more inclusive and effective patient care. It is merely one of several forthcoming initiatives designed to address and bridge the existing gender gaps prevalent in medical research and healthcare practices.