Applicability of Existing Gender Scores for German Clinical Research Data: Scoping Review and Data Mapping

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Medical Research
• Gender Studies

Background:

• Sex and gender considerations enhance research quality and equity.
• Challenges persist in accurately representing dynamic gender in medicine.
• Current methods for gender data collection are insufficient for clinical research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a standard for collecting and assessing gender-specific data in German university hospitals.
• To evaluate existing gender scores for applicability in clinical research.
• To propose actionable steps for integrating gender data into routine clinical practice.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of 22 publications on gender scores.
• Assessment of gender score applicability on German clinical data (Medical Informatics Initiative core dataset - MII CDS).
• Evaluation of MII CDS for existing gender-relevant variables.

Main Results:

• No standardized, validated gender score exists for health research.
• Existing gender scores are primarily for epidemiological research and not easily applicable to clinical data.
• The MII CDS lacks crucial variables needed for comprehensive gender scoring, though some data exists in routine clinical practice.

Conclusions:

• Updating and expanding the MII CDS with gender-relevant information is necessary for retrospective analysis of clinical data.
• Recommendations and concrete steps are provided for capturing and representing gender data in a machine-readable format.
• Implementation of these changes will improve gender-specific health research capabilities.