Message from the Scientific Director – Institute of Gender and Health

The Institute of Gender and Health (IGH) of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the first, and remains the world's only, health research funding institute with a specific focus on gender, sex and health. As Scientific Director of IGH, I am proud to lead an institute that places Canada at this leading edge. By taking gender and sex into account in health research we are making profound changes—both in how we do science and, importantly, how we translate research into improved health and health care for all Canadians.

Every cell is sexed. Every person is gendered. IGH was founded over 10 years ago to address major gaps in the study of the health of women, girls, men and boys. We can no longer assume that drugs, devices, interventions and policies are equally appropriate for men and women. In Canada, men die younger than women: 78 compared to 82.7 years. At the same time, women experience a heavier burden of chronic illness. There are numerous differences in how men and women behave with regards to their health, their use of the health system and their responses to therapies. There is also great diversity within populations of women and of men, as well as important similarities between men and women that need to be considered in prevention and treatment.

Unique research questions specific to gender, sex and health need to be addressed. In basic science, many models use male-only animals and the sex of cell lines is often unknown. In other fields, gender is conceptualized in a variety of ways and is sometimes difficult to operationalize. It is the work of IGH to continue to support research that fills critical knowledge gaps and advances the science of gender, sex and health. With this knowledge we will be able to uncover the ways that sex and gender influence disease trajectories, ensure that men and women have access to appropriate health care, and that the pharmaceutical products they are prescribed are suitable.

Better science with sex and gender. It is the position of the Institute of Gender and Health that all health research should consider the influence of gender and sex in any phenomena of study. If we don't ask gender and sex questions from the beginning, the evidence we generate may incomplete or simply incorrect; we risk not only doing harm (e.g. extrapolating findings based on male samples to females), but also missing critical opportunities to improve health (e.g. not detecting the benefits of an intervention in a sub-group of men). We recognize that there are research questions where it might be the case that sex and gender are not relevant, but irrelevance should be determined by scientific rationale rather by oversight.

Gender and sex make health research more equitably applicable to people's real-world needs. When science and societal needs come together, we stand closer to bridging the knowledge-to-action gap. IGH is committed to supporting research that responds to pressing health concerns and implements novel evidence-based strategies to tackle these challenges. Tailored evidence and interventions put us on the path to improving the health of every body.

I look forward to continuing to support ongoing strengths and new directions in the field of gender, sex and health, and to working with the health research community to foster the uptake of gender and sex considerations in all domains of health research.

Dr. Joy Johnson
Scientific Director
CIHR Institute of Gender and Health