How long will it take to reach the gender diversity goal for orthopaedics in Japan?

BACKGROUND: In Japan, orthopaedics is one of the medical fields with the lowest proportion of women. This study analyses the change in gender diversity over the past decade and estimates the time required to achieve the 30% gender diversity goal, according to the critical mass in Japan in 2020. METHODS: We investigated the demographic composition of orthopaedic surgeons in 2020 by age group, the gender ratio of the main clinical fields from 2010 to 2020, and estimated the time required for the bottom 10 (i.e., least diverse) medical departments in Japan to reach the proportion of 30% women. We used simple linear regression analyses to clarify the number of years. RESULTS: In 2020, the population pyramid of orthopaedic surgeons showed that those in their 50s were the largest component with 24.1%, followed by those in their 40s and 30s with 22.3% and 19.4%, respectively. The percentage of women orthopaedic surgeons increased slightly from 4.1% in 2010 to 5.7% in 2020. This means that to achieve the proportion of 30% women at the current annual increase rate, orthopaedics would require up to 160 years, cardiovascular 149 years, and neurosurgery 135 years. CONCLUSION: Contrary to the recent increase in the number of women physicians, there has been only a slight increase in the number of women orthopaedic surgeons over the past decade. Moreover, the number of young male orthopaedic surgeons has decreased. As current orthopaedic surgeons age and retire, Japan will soon face an overall shortage of orthopaedic surgeons. Issues that must still be addressed in Japanese orthopaedics include educating men and women about gender diversity and bias, changing stereotypes about surgical lifestyles, improving work-life balance, and diligent and collaborative efforts at both the individual and community levels.

Academic Engagement of Women as Orthopaedic Surgeons at the Annual Meetings of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association From 2012 to 2022.

BACKGROUND: Higher gender diversity correlates with higher patient satisfaction, higher-quality medical education, increased research productivity, and higher revenues. Although the field of Japanese orthopaedic surgery includes the lowest proportion of women and lags in gender diversity, reports on the current gender diversity status in academic activities are scarce. We investigated changes in women's participation in academic activities at the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) annual meetings over the past 11 years. METHODS: Data on the percentage of women in the JOA membership during 2012-2022 were analyzed to ascertain the proportion of women as first authors of oral and poster presentations, abstract reviewers, invited lecturers, seminar lecturers, general abstract oral chairpersons, symposium chairpersons, and speakers. Regarding the ratio of women among the JOA members during 2012-2022, we relied on data provided by the JOA. Data related to other categories were collected from the abstract book presented at the JOA Annual Meetings between 2012 and 2022. We analyzed the time trend for women's proportions using the Cochran-Armitage trend test. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: During 2012-2022, the percentage of female members (4.9-6.7%), poster first authors (2.7-4.3%), abstract reviewers (0-1.5%), general abstract oral chairpersons (0-2.3%), symposium chairpersons (0-3.6%), and symposium speakers (1.6-6.8%) had increased significantly (p < 0.05). Oral first authors (2.2-4.1%), invited lecturers (0-6.8%), or seminar lecturers (0%-6.7%) showed no trend. Women engaged in academic activities at all annual association meetings did not exceed the women's proportion among the association members. CONCLUSION: Although the proportion of women members of the JOA has gradually increased and more women are involved in its annual meetings, the proportion of female presenters, invited speakers, symposiasts, and chairpersons of oral and poster presentations is generally lower than that of women as JOA members. Members should be asked to raise awareness, including more active education of women as physicians in educational institutions and the creation of positive actions to select women as physicians for more important roles (chairpersons, educational speakers, and symposiasts) in the organization of annual meetings.

Does the Effect of Stereotypes in Older People Depend Upon Task Intensity?

This study examined the effect of negative and positive stereotypes on the strength produced by older adults at different perceived effort intensities, reflecting different levels of task difficulty. Fifty older women were randomly assigned to a positive stereotype, a negative stereotype, or a control condition. Before (T1) and after (T2) the stereotype manipulation, they were asked to perform a voluntary isometric contraction at a level of muscular effort that corresponded to four perceived effort intensities ("easy," "moderate," hard" and "very hard"). Results showed that participants attained greater strength during the easy and hard tasks after exposure to both positive and negative stereotypes. At the moderate and very hard intensities, stereotype induction did not significantly change the strength from the baseline performance. While these results are not fully in line with the stereotype threat theory, they provide evidence that task difficulty could modulate the effect of aging stereotypes during physical tasks.

Listeners' attitudes toward children with voice problems.

PURPOSE: To investigate the attitudes of school teachers toward children with voice problems in a Chinese population. METHOD: Three groups of listeners participated in this study: primary school teachers, speech-language pathology students, and general university students. The participants were required to make attitude judgments on 12 voice samples using a semantic differential scale with 22 bipolar adjective pairs. The voice samples were collected from 6 children with healthy voices and 6 children with dysphonia. The 22 bipolar adjective pairs were intended to cover nonspeech characteristics about the child's personality, social characteristics, and physical appearance. RESULTS: The mean attitude ratings received by children with dysphonic voice were significantly lower (i.e., less favorable) than those received by children with healthy voices in all of the 22 adjective pairs (all ps < .002). The attitude ratings made by the 3 groups of listeners were not significantly different from one another ( ps > .05). CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first study in which the authors examine listeners' perception toward children with voice problems in the Chinese population. The results suggest that voice problems in children warrant attention, and their effects on the child should not be underestimated. The findings also highlight the importance of early identification and intervention for children with voice problems.

Estereotipos sociales como amenaza a la inserción de adultos mayores: revisión narrativa / Social stereotyping as a threat to the integration of the older people: narrative review

Introducción: Una de las características más sobresalientes de nuestra época es el aumento de adultos mayores (AM). Su irrupción reclamando un lugar en la sociedad, ha dejado al descubierto que no se cuenta con una adecuada preparación para enfrentar esta realidad. Una de las principales amenazas para la inserción de los AM son los estereotipos sociales. Objetivo: Recopilar los factores que ocasionan la visión negativa en relación a los AM en el equipo de salud, familias y sociedad. Resultados: La literatura específica describe una sociedad inmediatista, donde transformaciones tecnológicas y económicas dan paso a la familia pequeña, relegando al abuelo. El proceso de envejecimiento plantea nuevos retos para el AM, familias y Sistema de Salud. El servicio de geriatría se ha convertido en una demanda creciente y dinámica. Sin embargo, los conocimientos de los profesionales están arraigados en estereotipos y prejuicios, conduciendo a un enfoque inadecuado, negativo y mecanicista del AM. La mejora en la atención del AM disminuye su carga psicológica. El ambiente seguro y acogedor creado por el equipo de salud y familiares, ofrecerá apoyo emocional, social y mejores resultados en salud. Conclusiones: Se debe sensibilizar a profesionales, familias y redes de apoyo, re-educando sus expectativas y percepciones. La modificación de estos factores mejora la actitud hacia los AM, sustituye prácticas discriminadoras por comportamientos positivos, fomenta la atención integral e influye en la calidad de vida del paciente geriátrico.

Introduction: One of the most outstanding characteristics of our time is the increase of older adults (OA). Its emergence claiming a place in society has revealed that there is no adequate preparation to face this reality. One of the major threats for the insertion of OA in the society are the social stereotypes. Aim of the study: To gather the factors that causes a negative perception in relation with OA. Results: The specific literature describes an immediate society, where technological and economic transformations give way to the small (nuclear) family, relegating the grandfather. The process of ageing raises new challenges for OA, their families and the Health System. The geriatric service has become a growing and dynamic demand. However, the knowledge of the professionals is rooted in stereotypes and prejudices that lead to an inadequate, negative and mechanistic approach of the OA. The improvement in the care of the OA decreases their psychological burden. The safe and welcoming environment created by the health care team and family will provide emotional, social and better health outcomes. Conclusion: It should sensitize professionals, families and support networks, re-educating their expectations and perceptions. The modification of these factors improves the attitude towards the OA, replaces discriminatory practices by positive behaviors, promotes the integral attention and affects the quality of life of geriatric patients.