Gender-sensitive medicine—what exactly is it?

Men and women differ biologically. Nevertheless, medicine has historically been based on a male model that was considered the norm, while women have long been underrepresented in clinical trials. The current focus on women’s health aims to make medical care more equitable, safer, and more personalized.

Gender-sensitive medicine (GSM) goes one step further: it examines the interaction between biological (sex) and sociocultural (gender) differences in health and disease. This is because all genders benefit when their differences and similarities are recognized, addressed appropriately, and when preventive services and therapeutic measures are tailored to them.

Lecture clearly Lecture how GSM integrates biological differences—such as chromosomes and sex hormones—with sociocultural influences like gender roles, education, age, religion, and gender identity. It also demonstrates how insights from GSM can lead to more equitable prevention, more reliable diagnostics, and more personalized therapies, thereby representing an important step toward personalized medicine.