Sex and gender influence the medical conditions people develop, the symptoms they report, the care they receive, and their overall outcomes. The British Heart Foundation is contributing to the MESSAGE (Medical Science Sex and Gender Equity) initiative to help develop guidance for researchers on how to consider sex and gender in research.

Sex and gender play a fundamental role in individual and collective health. For example, we know that: Men generally develop cardiovascular disease at a younger age than womenand it Women may be more likely to have heart attacks misdiagnosed than men. Therefore, studying and understanding the differences and similarities between sex and gender is essential to ensuring that medicines, treatments, and care are safe and effective for all who need them, when they are needed. is.

High-quality, reproducible, and inclusive research requires considering gender at every stage, from study design to participant recruitment, data analysis, and how results are shared. It’s different from many other countries, especially Canada, the United States, and European countries. horizon europe – The UK currently lacks standard, uniform guidance on how sex and gender should be considered in research.

This is why the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Message (Sex and Gender Equality in Medical Science) Initiatives to help shape sex and gender policy, available from 2024. This is also in line with his BHF goals. Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategyThis includes an ambition that by 2025, our research community will be actively considering strategies to improve the representativeness of research where appropriate. Although we have already made some significant progress toward this goal, Modify funding application forms to facilitate inclusive research designs, BHF strongly supports the need for widespread cultural change in this area and the need for partnership efforts and initiatives such as MESSAGE to achieve this. This cultural shift will solidify the UK’s position as a world leader in rigorous, sustainable science and, as part of a fairer society, will enable the UK to become the most effective way to improve outcomes for people affected by health conditions. may be useful in providing evidence.

Read more about the MESSAGE initiative

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Have any questions?comments, or ideas on how to BHF is EDI initiatives in researchPlease contact. [email protected].