Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2023 Aug;40(8):e15087.
doi: 10.1111/dme.15087. Epub 2023 Mar 23.

Implicit gender bias in the diagnosis and treatment of type 2 diabetes: A randomized online study

A Skvortsova  1   2 , S H Meeuwis  1   3 , R C Vos  4 , H M M Vos  4 , H van Middendorp  1 , D S Veldhuijzen  1 , A W M Evers  1   5   6
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Implicit gender bias in the diagnosis and treatment of type 2 diabetes: A randomized online study

A Skvortsova et al. Diabet Med. 2023 Aug.

Abstract

Aims: Implicit gender biases (IGBs) are unconscious evaluations about a person based on gender. IGBs of healthcare providers may affect medical decision making. This study investigated whether IGBs and genders of patients and general practitioners (GPs) influence diagnostics and treatment decisions in the context of diabetes type 2.

Methods: Ninety-nine GPs participated in this randomized online study. Implicit Associations Tasks were used to measure two IGBs, related to lifestyle (women have a healthier lifestyle than men) and communication (men are less communicative than women). Clinical decisions regarding type 2 diabetes were measured with vignettes that included a fictional male or female patient case.

Results: Female GPs exhibited a significant lifestyle IGB (p < 0.001). GPs of both genders exhibited a significant communication IGB (p < 0.001). Several associations between IGBs and clinical decisions were found. The gender of the vignette character affected several outcomes, for example GPs were less certain in the diabetes diagnosis when the character was a woman (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: We demonstrated that GPs have IGBs and these biases as well as patient's gender affect decisions of GP's when they are solving a diabetes vignette case. Future research is needed to understand the most important consequences of IGBs in the context of type 2 diabetes.

Keywords: gender bias; general practitioner; implicit associations tasks; implicit bias; type 2 diabetes; vignettes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

REFERENCES

    1. Adams A, Buckingham CD, Lindenmeyer A, et al. The influence of patient and doctor gender on diagnosing coronary heart disease. Sociol Health Illn. 2008;30(1):1-18.
    1. Bertakis KD. The influence of gender on the doctor-patient interaction. Patient Educ Couns. 2009;76(3):356-360.
    1. Sandhu H, Adams A, Singleton L, Clark-Carter D, Kidd J. The impact of gender dyads on doctor-patient communication: a systematic review. Patient Educ Couns. 2009;76(3):348-355.
    1. Arber S, McKinlay J, Adams A, Marceau L, Link C, O'Donnell A. Patient characteristics and inequalities in doctors' diagnostic and management strategies relating to CHD: a video-simulation experiment. Soc Sci Med. 2006;62(1):103-115.
    1. Daly C, Clemens F, Lopez Sendon JL, et al. Gender differences in the management and clinical outcome of stable angina. Circulation. 2006;113(4):490-498.

Publication types

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources