Measured treatment differences between sexes and genders: A scoping review

Sex and gender-based inequality is found throughout medicine. Although there has been significant research in gender disparities affecting healthcare professionals, there is a lack of research into gender differences in the treatment of patients. Despite recognition of systemic issues, recent empirical evidence on how gender influences actual treatment decisions remains fragmented across specialties. A preliminary search of MEDLINE, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and JBI (Joanna Briggs institute) Evidence Synthesis was conducted and no current or underway systematic reviews or scoping reviews on the topic were identified.

Studies in English published between 2018 and 2023 were included. Only research which studied measurable differences in the care received by patients of different sexes or genders was included. Both authors independently screened the literature against the a priori defined eligibility criteria. A thematic synthesis approach was used and results summarised qualitatively.

Forty-one papers were included in this review. Of the thirty-eight retrospective case series, thirty-three found a significant difference between the treatment of male and female patients. Of the twenty-nine case series using a multivariate analysis, twenty-five studies found a significant difference in treatment between male and female patients.

The results of this review indicate that men and women are frequently treated differently by healthcare systems. During 2018-2023, five hundred and fifty-one papers were published which studied gender-based differences in opportunities given to healthcare professionals, but only forty-one studying the treatment given to patients. This highlights an area of unmet research need.