Objective: There is a gap in research on gender-based discrimination (GBD) in medical education and practice in Germany. This study therefore examines the extent and forms of GBD among female medical students and physicians in Germany. Causes, consequences and possible interventions of GBD are discussed. Methods: Female medical students (n=235) and female physicians (n=157) from five university hospitals in northern Germany were asked about their personal experiences with GBD in an online survey on self-efficacy expectations and individual perceptions of the “glass ceiling effect” using an open-ended question regarding their own experiences with GBD. The answers were analyzed by content analysis using inductive category formation and relative category frequencies. Results: From both interviewed groups, approximately 75% of each reported having experienced GBD. Their experiences fell into five main categories: sexual harassment with subcategories of verbal and physical, discrimination based on existing/possible motherhood with subcategories of structural and verbal, direct preference for men, direct neglect of women, and derogatory treatment based on gender. Conclusion: The study contributes to filling the aforementioned research gap. At the hospitals studied, GBD is a common phenomenon among both female medical students and physicians, manifesting itself in multiple forms. Transferability of the results beyond the hospitals studied to all of Germany seems plausible. Much is known about the causes, consequences and effective countermeasures against GBD. Those responsible for training and employers in hospitals should fulfill their responsibility by implementing measures from the set of empirically evaluated interventions. Methods Female medical students and physicians from five university hospitals in northern Germany were given an online open question concerning their personal experiences with gernderbased discrimination. The answers were evaluated by qualitative content analysis (Mayring) and by relative frequencies.

*WHO-5, World Health Organization-Five Well-being Index.†Fisher's exact test or trend test between any medical error and no error.

The Nuclear Medicine National HQ System database is a series of MS Excel spreadsheets and Access Database Tables by fiscal year. They consist of information from all Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs) performing or contracting nuclear medicine services in Veterans Affairs medical facilities. The medical centers are required to complete questionnaires annually (RCS 10-0010-Nuclear Medicine Service Annual Report). The information is then manually entered into the Access Tables, which includes: * Distribution and cost of in-house VA - Contract Physician Services, whether contracted services are made via sharing agreement (with another VA medical facility or other government medical providers) or with private providers. * Workload data for the performance and/or purchase of PET/CT studies. * Organizational structure of services. * Updated changes in key imaging service personnel (chiefs, chief technicians, radiation safety officers). * Workload data on the number and type of studies (scans) performed, including Medicare Relative Value Units (RVUs), also referred to as Weighted Work Units (WWUs). WWUs are a workload measure calculated as the product of a study's Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code, which consists of total work costs (the cost of physician medical expertise and time), and total practice costs (the costs of running a practice, such as equipment, supplies, salaries, utilities etc). Medicare combines WWUs together with one other parameter to derive RVUs, a workload measure widely used in the health care industry. WWUs allow Nuclear Medicine to account for the complexity of each study in assessing workload, that some studies are more time consuming and require higher levels of expertise. This gives a more accurate picture of workload; productivity etc than using just 'total studies' would yield. * A detailed Full-Time Equivalent Employee (FTEE) grid, and staffing distributions of FTEEs across nuclear medicine services. * Information on Radiation Safety Committees and Radiation Safety Officers (RSOs). Beginning in 2011 this will include data collection on part-time and non VA (contract) RSOs; other affiliations they may have and if so to whom they report (supervision) at their VA medical center.Collection of data on nuclear medicine services' progress in meeting the special needs of our female veterans. Revolving documentation of all major VA-owned gamma cameras (by type) and computer systems, their specifications and ages. * Revolving data collection for PET/CT cameras owned or leased by VA; and the numbers and types of PET/CT studies performed on VA patients whether produced on-site, via mobile PET/CT contract or from non-VA providers in the community.* Types of educational training/certification programs available at VA sites * Ongoing funded research projects by Nuclear Medicine (NM) staff, identified by source of funding and research purpose. * Data on physician-specific quality indicators at each nuclear medicine service.* Academic achievements by NM staff, including published books/chapters, journals and abstracts. * Information from polling field sites re: relevant issues and programs Headquarters needs to address. * Results of a Congressionally mandated contracted quality assessment exercise, also known as a Proficiency study. Study results are analyzed for comparison within VA facilities (for example by mission or size), and against participating private sector health care groups. * Information collected on current issues in nuclear medicine as they arise. Radiation Safety Committee structures and membership, Radiation Safety Officer information and information on how nuclear medicine services provided for female Veterans are examples of current issues.The database is now stored completely within MS Access Database Tables with output still presented in the form of Excel graphs and tables.

Background The purpose of this study is to explore laypersons' attitudes toward the use of archived (existing) materials such as medical records and biological samples and to compare them with the attitudes of physicians who are involved in medical research. Methods Three focus group interviews were conducted, in which seven Japanese male members of the general public, seven female members of the general public and seven physicians participated. Results It was revealed that the lay public expressed diverse attitudes towards the use of archived information and samples without informed consent. Protecting a subject's privacy, maintaining confidentiality, and communicating the outcomes of studies to research subjects were regarded as essential preconditions if researchers were to have access to archived information and samples used for research without the specific informed consent of the subjects who provided the material. Although participating physicians thought that some kind of prior permission from subjects was desirable, they pointed out the difficulties involved in obtaining individual informed consent in each case. Conclusions The present preliminary study indicates that the lay public and medical professionals may have different attitudes towards the use of archived information and samples without specific informed consent. This hypothesis, however, is derived from our focus groups interviews, and requires validation through research using a larger sample.

In medicine, it is critical that clinicians demonstrate both empathy (perceived as warmth) and competence. Perceptions of these qualities are often intuitive and are based on nonverbal behavior. Emphasizing both warmth and competence may prove problematic, however, because there is evidence that they are inversely related in other settings. We hypothesize that perceptions of physician competence will instead be positively correlated with perceptions of physician warmth and empathy, potentially due to changing conceptions of the physician’s role. We test this hypothesis in an analog medical context using a large online sample, manipulating physician nonverbal behaviors suggested to communicate empathy (e.g. eye contact) and competence (the physician’s white coat). Participants rated physicians displaying empathic nonverbal behavior as more empathic, warm, and more competent than physicians displaying unempathic nonverbal behavior, adjusting for mood. We found no warmth/competence tradeoff and, additionally, no significant effects of the white coat. Further, compared with male participants, female participants perceived physicians displaying unempathic nonverbal behavior as less empathic. Given the significant consequences of clinician empathy, it is important for clinicians to learn how nonverbal behavior contributes to perceptions of warmth, and use it as another tool to improve their patients’ emotional and physical health.

This table contains 267456 series, with data for years 2000 - 2000 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (199 items: Canada; Health and Community Services Eastern Region; Newfoundland and Labrador (Peer group D); Health and Community Services St. John's Region; Newfoundland and Labrador (Peer group H); Newfoundland and Labrador ...) Age group (14 items: Total; 12 years and over; 12-19 years; 15-19 years; 12-14 years ...) Sex (3 items: Both sexes; Females; Males ...) Contact with medical doctors (4 items: Total population for the variable contact with medical doctors; Contact with medical doctors in past 12 months; Contact with medical doctors; not stated; No contact with medical doctors in past 12 months ...) Characteristics (8 items: Number of persons; Low 95% confidence interval - number of persons; High 95% confidence interval - number of persons; Coefficient of variation for number of persons ...).

Abstract The provision of physicians has been the object of international discussions for decades, and the same is true for Brazil, where there is a situation of shortage and bad distribution of physicians. The present research had the aim of describing the profile of the physicians included in the ‘More Doctors’ Program (Programa Mais Médicos, in Portuguese). It is a quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive study, followed by a case study with information from 272 questionnaires. The data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical software, version 22.0. The average age of the interviewees was 38.2 years, and 50.7% of them were female, 11% were in their first jobs, 51.1% had graduated between 1 and 5 years prior to the study, and 85% reported having experience working in primary health care. We observed that, with the implementation of the ‘More Doctors’ Program in the state of Paraíba, Northeastern Brazil, there was a change not only in the amount of doctors, but also in the number of job posts, in the number of physicians who go work on the countryside, and in the redistribution of these professionals. However, the results indicate that there still are 22 municipalities in Paraíba without physicians, and that 85.3% of the physicians included in the Program still did not have a specialist title. The conditions of access and the quality of the services provided still constitute a great challenge yet to be overcome.

Starting from 1978, the Ministry of Health in Italy has the duty to compile a report on the implementation of the law for the protection of maternity and for the voluntary termination of pregnancy (Law n. 194, paragraph 6, May 22nd 1978) to the Parliament every year. The report is generally referred to as "Relazione del Ministro della salute sulla attuazione della legge contenente norme per la tutela sociale della maternità e per l’interruzione volontaria di gravidanza - Legge 194/7".

These reports contain regional-level information on the number of abortions, the characteristics of the women seeking abortion and the medical technicalities of the procedures, information on the number of centers for family planning and health available, and the number of medical doctors who refuse to perform abortions due to moral concerns.

The provided data set compiles information from the reports for the different Italian regions for the years 1978 to 2017. It is suitable to study the regional variation over time in the availability of family planning centers and trends in conscientious objection in Italy.

ObjectiveTo assess physician-based mental health care utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic among children and adolescents new to care and those already engaged with mental health services, and to evaluate differences by sociodemographic factors.Study designWe performed a population-based repeated cross-sectional study using linked health and administrative databases in Ontario, Canada among all children and adolescents 3–17 years. We examined outpatient visit rates per 1,000 population for mental health concerns for those new to care (no physician-based mental healthcare for ≥1 year) and those with continuing care needs (any physician-based mental healthcare <1 year) following onset of the pandemic.ResultsAmong ~2.5 million children and adolescents (48.7% female, mean age 10.1 ± 4.3 years), expected monthly mental health outpatient visits were 1.5/1,000 for those new to mental health care and 5.4/1,000 for those already engaged in care. Following onset of the pandemic, visit rates for both groups were above expected [adjusted rate ratio (aRR) 1.22, 95% CI 1.17, 1.27; aRR 1.10, 95% CI 1.07, 1.12] for new and continuing care, respectively. The greatest increase above expected was among females (new: aRR 1.33, 95% CI 1.25, 1.42; continuing: aRR 1.22 95% CI 1.17, 1.26) and adolescents ages 13–17 years (new: aRR 1.31, 95% CI 1.27, 1.34; continuing: aRR 1.15 95% CI 1.13, 1.17). Mood and anxiety concerns were prominent among those new to care.ConclusionIn the 18 months following onset of the pandemic, outpatient mental health care utilization increased for those with new and continuing care needs, especially among females and adolescents.

BackgroundUnderstanding how governance factors such as democracy and corruption impact the healthcare workforce is crucial for achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Effective health workforce planning and resource allocation are influenced by these political constructs. This study examines the relationship between democracy and corruption and key healthcare workforce metrics.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted using a global dataset from 2020 to 2022. The primary outcome was Physician Density (medical doctors per 10000 people). Secondary outcomes included the generalist to specialist ratio and the percentage of female physicians (% Female). Partial correlations, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the relationship between workforce variables and the democracy index (DI), and corruption perception index (CPI), controlling for domestic health expenditure.ResultsData from 134 countries showed significant positive associations between both DI (r = 0.32, p = 0.004) and CPI (r = 0.43, p < 0.001) with physician density. MANOVA indicated significant multivariate effects of DI (Wilks’ Lambda = 0.8642, p = 0.013) and CPI (Wilks’ Lambda = 0.8036, p = 0.001) on the combined workforce variables. Univariate ANOVAs showed that DI (F = 6.13, p = 0.015) and CPI (F = 10.57, p = 0.002) significantly affected physician density, even after adjusting for domestic expenditure (F = 18.53, p < 0.001). However, neither DI nor CPI significantly impacted the Generalist to Specialist Ratio or % Female Physicians.DiscussionHigher levels of democracy and lower levels of corruption are associated with a greater density of medical doctors, independent of healthcare spending. Policymakers must advocate for governance reforms that support a robust healthcare workforce to support aim of universal health coverage.

Objectives: Female condoms are the only female-initiated HIV and pregnancy prevention technology currently available. We examined female condom counseling and provision among providers in South Africa and Zimbabwe, high HIV-prevalence countries. Design: Cross-sectional study using a nationally-representative survey. Setting: All facilities that provide family planning or HIV/STI services in the two countries. Participants: National probability sample of 1,444 nurses and physicians who provide family planning or HIV/STI services. Primary and secondary outcome measures: Female condom practices with different female patients, including adolescents, married women, women using hormonal contraception, and by HIV status. Using multivariable logistic analysis, we measured variations in condom counseling by provider characteristics. Results: Most providers reported offering female condoms (88%), but perceived a need for novel female barrier methods for HIV/STI prevention (85%). By patient type, providers reported less frequent female condom counseling of adolescents (55%), women using hormonal contraception (65%), and married women (66%), compared to unmarried (74%) or HIV-positive women (82%). Multivariable results showed providers in South Africa were less likely to counsel women on female condoms than in Zimbabwe (OR=0.48, 95% CI: 0.35-0.68, p= 0.001). However, South African providers were more likely to counsel women on male condoms (OR=2.39, 95% CI: 1.57-3.65, p= 0.001). Nurses counseled patients on female condoms more frequently than physicians (OR=5.41, 95% CI: 3.26-8.98, p= 0.001). HIV training, family planning training, provider location (urban vs. rural), and facility type (hospital vs. clinic) were not associated with greater condom counseling. Conclusions: Female condoms were integrated into provider counseling and care, although providers reported a need for new female-initiated multipurpose prevention technologies, suggesting female condoms do not meet all patient/provider needs or are not adequately well-known or accessible. Providers should be included in HIV training efforts to raise awareness of new and existing products, and encouraged to educate all women. Methods Stata dataset

BackgroundAndrogenetic alopecia (AGA) is extremely prevalent with a multifactorial etiology.MaterialsWe conducted a cross-sectional study using the All of US (AoU) dataset Sept 2024 to better understand the epidemiology, social determinants and management of AGA.ResultsMost males were 20–39 years old and females 60–69 years old. Men typically have an earlier onset of AGA than females. Male AGA is generally managed with finasteride; oral minoxidil is prescribed in younger males. Females are prescribed spironolactone and oral minoxidil with finasteride in post-menopausal females. There was very little dutasteride prescribed. Topical minoxidil is available over the counter and was not evaluated. Early in 2011 there were reports of the Post-Finasteride Syndrome (PFS); subsequently, the finasteride prescription rate fell to about 10–20% of the pre-PFS prescription rate. There was increased reporting for AGA in those who drink, have an annual household income ≥$75,000, and those with a higher level of education. There was also higher reporting of female AGA in those with anxiety and depression. Patients with higher income and education may have less pressing medical concerns enabling them to bring their AGA to the physician’s attention. Females in whom the AGA affects their anxiety and depression may seek help for the AGA as a way to address their underlying disorder.ConclusionsThis study provides a snapshot of the epidemiology and management of AGA in the USA. AGA is linked to the social determinants of health; addressing the AGA may help better manage the underlying mental and physical state.