The Trans Learning Partnership is today publishing a statement of intent signalling our support for the introduction of dedicated sex and gender policies for biomedical, health and care research in the UK. We join with organisations across the UK medical research sector to publish this statement, which was produced in collaboration with The George Institute for Global Health’s Medical Science Sex and Gender Equity (MESSAGE) project.
High-quality, reproducible and inclusive medical research requires consideration of sex and gender at every stage, from study design and participant recruitment to data analysis and transparent reporting of results. Sex and gender influence the conditions people develop, the symptoms they experience, the treatment they receive, and their overall outcomes.
The current evidence base has relied on studies conducted primarily on male cells, animals and people, contributing to persisting standards of worse care and worse outcomes for cis women and sex-and-gender-diverse people. Understanding sex and gender differences, as well as where similarities exist, is therefore essential to ensure that treatment and care is safe and effective for all people.
In addition, trans and/or nonbinary communities are chronically over-researched, but there remains an unavailability of answers to simple questions about their needs – the same or similar studies are frequently repeated because researchers don’t know where to look to find the existing answers, or how to access existing data. Our aim is to close this information gap and facilitate the production of large-scale research which can meaningfully interrogate data about trans and/or nonbinary communities in order to ensure they receive safe and effective care.
In contrast to other high-income countries – notably Canada, the United States and European nations under Horizon Europe – the UK has no standard, unified guidance for researchers about how to consider sex dimensions in cell and animal studies, and sex and gender dimensions in human studies. To address this need, the Trans Learning Partnership has collaborated with the MESSAGE project to co-design a sex and gender policy framework for UK research funders. We are working alongside the wider sector – including research funders, regulators, researchers, patient and public groups, academic publishers, and the Department of Health and Social Care – to develop priorities for change in this space and discuss how sex and gender policies should be best implemented. We welcome the launch of this framework in 2024, which sets a new gold standard for research in the UK and will ensure cohesion in requirements made of researchers going forwards.
Robyn Norton, Founding Director of The George Institute, Professor of Global Health at Imperial College London and co-principal investigator on the MESSAGE project, said, “We are delighted to see so many members of the UK research sector express their commitment to improving scientific rigour and equity in biomedical, health and care research. Today marks a huge advance for the UK research community, which will help provide the most effective evidence to improve outcomes for all patients.”
To support this effort, the TLP will continue its participation in MESSAGE labs as part of its efforts in all areas to improve best practices for the collection, management, and analysis of trans and/or nonbinary data.
You can find out more about the MESSAGE project at www.messageproject.co.uk or on X at @MESSAGE_TGI
