Judging from a study published in the Journal of Women’s Health in December, we are moving forward but have more work to do.
The authors, Dr. Nicole C. Woitowich from the Women’s Health Research Institute and Dr. Teresa K. Woodruff from Northwestern University, surveyed members of standing NIH study sections who both evaluate grant applications and often submit applications of their own to receive funding. One survey was conducted shortly after the policy was first put in place in 2016, followed by another survey one year later.
Of the researchers who responded to the 2017 survey, 68 percent said it was important for NIH-funded research to consider sex, up from 63 percent in 2016. Only 58 percent agreed that such a policy improves the rigor and reproducibility of the work. That’s an improvement from 54 percent who saw the scientific value of the policy in 2016.
The responses to both of these questions reveal a need to better educate researchers about the benefits of considering sex in every study. Notably, only 61 percent of respondents in the latest survey said that SABV was consistently weighed into the application scoring system.
All this, despite the fact that carefully conducted science continues to demonstrate sex and gender differences in human health. Because basic laboratory studies form the necessary foundation to conduct human studies, it is essential to include SABV to understand human health.
Just as we are doing at WHRY.
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