How can gender diversity be better documented in health research? A team led by health researchers Gabriele Bolte and Sophie Horstmann from the Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research at the University of Bremen, the Gender and Science working group at Humboldt University in Berlin, and Gender Medicine at Radboud University in Nijmegen is working on this question.
In quantitative health research, for example in epidemiological studies, gender has mostly been recorded in a simplified way. "Gender is a frequently used variable in health research, but it is usually limited to a simple distinction between 'male' and 'female,'" explains Professor Gabriele Bolte of the Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research (IPP) at the University of Bremen and head of the DIVERGesTOOL project. "However, this is not sufficient for examining the interaction of the different dimensions of gender and understanding connections between gender diversity and health."
Questionnaire and Recommendations for Recording Gender Diversity Developed
"For the development of gender-responsive health services, there is currently a great need for a more differentiated recording, that is, to take into account the diversity within the groups of 'women,' 'men,' and other gender identities," Gabriele Bolte emphasizes.
"With the new toolbox handout, we are now giving researchers something to help them engage more intensively with the recording of gender diversity. The developed questionnaire items, guiding questions, and hints are intended to support the development and application of suitable survey instruments for one's own research," adds Sophie Horstmann, a research assistant at IPP in the DIVERGesTOOL project.
The DIVERGesTOOL Project
The Federal Ministry for Health has been supporting the DIVERGesTOOL project (Toolbox for Operationalization of Sex/Gender Diversity in Research on Health Care, Health Promotion, and Prevention) since May 2020. In this interdisciplinary research project, led by Professor Gabriele Bolte, the Department of Social Epidemiology at the Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research, University of Bremen, is working closely with the Gender and Science working group at Humboldt University in Berlin and Gender Medicine at Radboud University in Nijmegen.
The researchers explored the question of how gender diversity and the different dimensions of gender can be made measurable. Together with representatives of large epidemiological studies in Germany and the health monitoring department of the Robert Koch Institute, they have for the first time developed a set of standardized questions and further recommendations for surveys in Germany to adequately capture gender in quantitative health research. Representatives of "Bundesverband trans*" and "Verein für intergeschlechtliche Menschen e.V." were invited to assess the proposals.
Further Information:
The toolbox is freely available to researchers at https://www.uni-bremen.de/divergestool-projekt/divergestool-toolbox
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Gabriele Bolte
Head of the Department of Social Epidemiology
Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research (IPP)
University of Bremen
Email: gabriele.bolteprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
Phone: +49 421 218-68821
Sophie Horstmann
Research assistant in the DIVERGesTOOL project
Department of Social Epidemiology
Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research (IPP)
University of Bremen
Email: sophie.horstmannprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
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