The incorporation of a sex and gender perspective in health research funded by the Ministry of Health, Brazil, 2004-2016
Gender, gender, health research; Data quality; Research design; Brazil.
Integrating sex and gender in health research is critical to contributing to an ethical and more responsible science to solve significant knowledge gaps, resulting in higher quality evidence for all. This study describes and analyzes Financing Policy of Department of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Health (Decit/MS) and institutional partners to support research that incorporates the categories of sex and gender between 2004 and 2016. So, also, evaluates the quality of sex and gender integration in 350 scientific articles produced by health research involving human participants. It is an evaluative study, with quantiqualitative approach, of documentary analysis. Used as a source of data the public repository research of Decit/MS to identify research that incorporates gender and gender. Analysis of the quality of gender and gender integration in scientific articles was based on the Essential Metrics for Assessing Sex and Gender Integration In Health Research Proposals Involving Human Participants metrics and classification scales. BRL 85.5 million was invested in 144 studies that analyzed differences in sex and gender during the period studied. The main modality of development was the national calls. Inequality was verified in the distribution of resources by more benefited regions and educational and research institutions, focused on the Southeast region as minor resources and funded research was allocated in the North and Midwest regions. Financing has ranged broadly in the modalities of funding over the years. The analysis of gender and gender integration in scientific production reveals that clinical research articles are the ones that have reported the most sexual differences, while research articles on population and public health are the ones that report the most gender differences. The quality assessment of gender and gender integration in articles points to low qualification in literature review items and research objectives (section 1) and participant’s recruitment and retention (section 2). However, section 3 items, data collection tools, data analysis and knowledge translation were evaluated as good and excellent. Recognizes the need to expand health research resources in all modalities of funding in a more targeted way to minimize the various disparities, as well as the importance of improving the quality of gender and gender integration in the stages of the research process by incentive in calls and edicts as training for researchers and reviewers