[Validation of a gender awareness scale in health sciences students]. / Validación de una escala de conciencia de género en el alumnado de ciencias de la salud.

OBJECTIVE: Given the need to promote gender equity in healthcare, this research aimed to adapt and validate a short version of the Nijmegen Gender Awareness Scale (N-GAMN), that assesses attitudes and gender stereotyping of health sciences students. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was carried out using a questionnaire among health sciences students from the universities of Barcelona, Cantabria, Cartagena de Indias and the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua. Nine hundred fifty-six students filled out the questionary. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed to establish the relationship between the observed variables and the latent dimensions. RESULTS: The factorial analysis evaluated the validity of the scale and confirmed the existence of a three-dimensional structure composed of: (F1) gender stereotypes towards patients, (F2) gender stereotypes towards professionals and (F3) gender sensitivity in the healthcare (fit data: CFI=0.917, TFI=0.899, RMSEA=0.08 and SRMEA=0.06). Descriptive statistics showed relatively high levels of gender awareness among the participants. Fewer stereotypes were observed towards professionals than towards patients. Women and students from Spanish universities showed a higher level of awareness. However, the significance values of the Mann-Whitney U test allow us to infer the existence of differences based on geographical area, but not based on gender. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest the potential application of the scale to assess the attitudes of students and professionals towards gender stereotypes and biases associated with clinical practice, as well as to assess the impact of gender awareness actions.

Validación de una escala de conciencia de género en el alumnado de ciencias de la salud / Validation of a gender awareness scale in health sciences students

Objetivo: Dada la importancia de promover la equidad de género en la atención sanitaria, esta investigación tuvo como objetivo adaptar y validar una propuesta abreviada de la Escala de Conciencia de Género de Nijmegen (N-GAMN), que evalúa actitudes y estereotipos de género de estudiantes de ciencias de la salud. Método: Se efectuó un estudio transversal (encuesta) en estudiantes de las universidades de Barcelona, Cantabria, Cartagena de Indias y Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua. Participaron 956 estudiantes. Se realizó un análisis factorial confirmatorio para establecer la relación entre las variables observadas y las dimensiones latentes. Resultados: El análisis factorial evaluó la validez de la escala y confirmó la existencia de una estructura tridimensional compuesta por: (F1) estereotipos de género sobre pacientes, (F2) estereotipos de género sobre profesionales y (F3) sensibilidad de género en la atención sanitaria (ajuste: CFI = 0,917, TFI = 0,899, RMSEA = 0,08 y SRMEA = 0,06). La estadística descriptiva mostró niveles relativamente altos de conciencia de género entre las personas participantes. Se observaron menos estereotipos sobre profesionales que sobre pacientes. Las mujeres y el alumnado de las universidades españolas mostraron un mayor nivel de concienciación. No obstante, los valores de significación de la prueba U de Mann-Whitney permiten inferir la existencia de diferencias en función del ámbito geográfico, pero no en función del sexo. Conclusiones: Los resultados sugieren la potencial aplicación de la escala para evaluar las actitudes de estudiantes y profesionales hacia los estereotipos y sesgos de género asociados a la práctica clínica, así como para evaluar el impacto de acciones de sensibilización de género. (AU)

Objective: Given the need to promote gender equity in healthcare, this research aimed to adapt and validate a short version of the Nijmegen Gender Awareness Scale (N-GAMN), that assesses attitudes and gender stereotyping of health sciences students. Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out using a questionnaire among health sciences students from the universities of Barcelona, Cantabria, Cartagena de Indias and the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua. Nine hundred fifty-six students filled out the questionary. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed to establish the relationship between the observed variables and the latent dimensions. Results: The factorial analysis evaluated the validity of the scale and confirmed the existence of a three-dimensional structure composed of: (F1) gender stereotypes towards patients, (F2) gender stereotypes towards professionals and (F3) gender sensitivity in the healthcare (fit data: CFI = 0.917, TFI = 0.899, RMSEA = 0.08 and SRMEA = 0.06). Descriptive statistics showed relatively high levels of gender awareness among the participants. Fewer stereotypes were observed towards professionals than towards patients. Women and students from Spanish universities showed a higher level of awareness. However, the significance values of the Mann–Whitney U test allow us to infer the existence of differences based on geographical area, but not based on gender. Conclusions: The results suggest the potential application of the scale to assess the attitudes of students and professionals towards gender stereotypes and biases associated with clinical practice, as well as to assess the impact of gender awareness actions. (AU)