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Description

Gender inequality: a longstanding issue that has been gaining overdue attention. Even within esteemed institutions such as medical schools, gender biases persist. Society trusts that those who attend medical school are given the knowledge needed to provide care and support during their most vulnerable moments as patients. While the education may be there, the “patients” may not be represented accurately. Future healthcare professionals must provide care for all patients, a diverse group encompassing all genders, ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds.

In 2019, the United States Census Bureau reported that the population was about 49% male and 51% female.¹ Therefore, medical students should receive near equal gender representation in their education. This ensures accurate portrayals of patients they will encounter, enabling effective, directed care. However, this may not be the case, as noted by a potential overrepresentation of males compared to females in medical education materials.

Unfamiliarity with gender differences may cause inequality in care, possible missed diagnoses, worse prognoses, and higher mortality. For example, the mortality rate of coronary heart disease (CHD) is higher in females than males.2 The presentation for females is considered “atypical,” causing less recognition, potentially due to the consideration of males as “typical.”

An unequal representation in educational images or information of gender, age, ethnicity, and body type, among others, has been demonstrated in various studies, as illustrated in Figure 1. This study seeks to focus on genders represented in diagnostic images (X-ray, CT, MRI, etc.)

Publication Date

5-2024

Disciplines

Radiology

Comments

The Embark Capstone Colloquium at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester Hills, MI, May, 2024.

Patient Population Representation in Medical Education Textbooks: Gender Imbalance of Diagnostic Images

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