ERIC Number: EJ1252984
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-May
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1382-4996
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Gender Awareness in Medicine: Adaptation and Validation of the "Nijmegen" Gender Awareness in Medicine Scale to the Portuguese Population (N-GAMS)
Advances in Health Sciences Education, v25 n2 p457-477 May 2020
Health care professionals' gender awareness has been presented as a mechanism to minimize gender biases in health. The present paper aimed to adapt and validate the Nijmegen Gender Awareness in Medicine Scale (N-GAMS, Verdonk et al. in Sex Roles 58:222-234, 2008. 10.1007/s11199-007-9326-x) to the Portuguese population, also addressing some limitations of its original study, namely by: (1) testing the scale's three-fold underlying structure and (2) extending the study of its criteria-related validity, by analyzing sex-related differences in medical students' gender awareness and the associations between gender awareness and empathy and sexism. One thousand and forty-eight medical students (M[subscript age] = 22.90; 67.1% women) filled out the Portuguese version of the N-GAMS (N-GAMS.pt) along with measures of Physician Empathy and Sexism. A Parallel Analysis and an Exploratory Factor Analysis suggested the presence of three factors. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed a good fit of the hypothesized three-factor structure: (1) "gender sensitivity" (n = 6 items; [alpha] = 0.713), (2) "gender-role ideologies towards patients" (n = 7 items; [alpha] = 0.858) and (3) "gender-role ideologies towards doctors (n = 5 items; [alpha] = 0.837), with a positive association between the latter two (r = 0.570; p < 0.001). The N-GAMS.pt also showed good criteria-related validity. Namely, as hypothesized: (1) more empathic students reported more gender sensitivity and lower endorsement of gender-role ideologies; (2) higher hostile and benevolent sexism were associated to higher endorsement of gender-role ideologies; and (3) higher hostile sexism was associated to lower "gender sensitivity." Implications of the N-GAMS for research and interventional purposes are discussed.
Descriptors: Health Personnel, Gender Differences, Factor Structure, Measures (Individuals), Empathy, Gender Bias, Factor Analysis, Medical Students, Goodness of Fit, Sex Role, Correlation, Evaluation Criteria
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
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