The science of sex and gender in human health

[Guest guest]

The science of sex and gender in human health

http://www.news-medical.net/?id=18255

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women's

Health (ORWH), in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration

(FDA) Office of Women's Health (OWH), have announces the launch of a

new online course, " The Science of Sex and Gender in Human Health. "

The course offers participants a basic scientific understanding of

the major physiological differences between the sexes, their

influence on illness and health outcomes, and their implications for

policy, medical research, and health care.

" Understanding the potential contribution of sex and gender factors

in health and disease and in morbidity and mortality is critical to

the public health and important for the design of research studies

and their clinical implications, " said Vivian Pinn, M.D., Director of

NIH ORWH.

" This online course will be an excellent resource for investigators

and clinicians, ensuring a better understanding of sex and gender

differences, " said Kathleen Uhl, M.D., Assistant Commissioner for FDA

OWH.

Designed for researchers, clinicians, members of academia, and

students in health professional schools, this course was created to

emphasize the importance of looking at the roles of sex and gender in

clinical research and treatment and builds upon the Institute of

Medicine (IOM) report, " Exploring the Biological Contributions to

Human Health: Does Sex Matter, " issued in 2001 for which NIH and FDA

were co-funders.

This course, which is free to the public, is self-paced and consists

of six lessons that cover definitions of sex and gender; the

development and implementation of applicable Federal guidelines and

regulations; cell physiology; developmental biology; pharmacodynamics

and pharmacokinetics; and clinical applications of genomics. The

course is accessible at http://sexandgendercourse.od.nih.gov/. (Due

to technical issues, this link is not yet available to the public. It

will be available shortly. Please visit this page for updates. We

apologize for any inconvenience.)

This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Other

participants who complete the course will receive a certificate from

the NIH. A second module, which will apply the basic concepts

presented in this course to specific conditions and organ systems

where sex differences play a significant role, is in development.

For more information about NIH's Office of Research on Women's

Health, visit http://orwh.od.nih.gov/. For more information about

FDA's Office of Women's Health, go to http://www.fda.gov/womens/.

http://www.fda.gov/