How to do (or not to do) ... gender analysis in health systems research

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How to do (or not to do) … gender analysis in health systems research

RECOMMENDED BY: ROSEMARY MORGAN DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL HEALTH, JOHNS HOPKINS BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

15 mins

This article highlights the importance of gender analysis in health systems research (HSR). The authors provide guidance in incorporating gender analysis into HSR, focusing on content, process, and outcomes, and emphasize the need for sex-disaggregated data, gender frameworks, and reflection on research process gender power dynamics. It argues that gender analysis is crucial for creating effective, equitable health system interventions and policies.

By:

Rosemary Morgan, Asha George, Sarah Ssali, Kate Hawkins, Sassy Molyneux and Sally Theobald Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore MD, USA. School of Women and Gender Studies, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. Pamoja Communications, Brighton, UK. Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kilifi, Kenya. Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine Research Building, Oxford University, Oxford, UK. Nuffield Department of Population Health, Ethox Centre, Oxford University, Oxford, UK. Department of International Public Health, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, UK.

This article provides guidance for incorporating gender analysis into health systems research (HSR). It emphasizes that gender power relations affect how people interact with and within health systems, shaping needs, experiences, and outcomes. As such, accounting for gender is critical for producing valid and reliable HSR evidence.

The authors outline practical ways to build gender considerations into HSR content, process, and outcomes. For HSR content, they recommend using sex-disaggregated data as a starting point to reveal gender differences; applying gender analysis frameworks (e.g. examining access to resources, division of labor, social norms, decision-making rules) to further examine the power relations underlying observed differences; and tailoring gender analysis questions to the health system domain studied. For HSR process, they emphasize reflecting on how research may introduce gender bias in the data collection and analysis phases. Lastly, they advocate for transforming gender relations in health systems. Overall, the authors conclude that incorporating gender analysis leads to better HSR and more effective policies.

Download the report: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6616028/pdf/EMS83615.pdfEMS83615.pdf