Abstract
Background: Little is known about how sex and/or gender is reported in trials on physiotherapy interventions.
Objectives: To determine the nature and extent of reporting sex and/or gender information in randomised controlled trials of physiotherapy interventions.
Data sources: Physiotherapy, Journal of Physiotherapy, Physical Therapy, Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy, and Journal of Orthopaedics and Sports Physical Therapy.
Study selection or eligibility criteria
Randomised controlled trials of physiotherapy interventions published between 2018-2024 were independently screened by two reviewers throughout title/abstract and full-text stages, then data were extracted from eligible full texts. Information on whether and how sex and/or gender data were collected, reported, and defined were extracted.
Synthesis methods: Data were analysed descriptively using frequencies and percentages.
Results: Of 182 studies included in the review, 153 studies did not have sex and/or gender exclusive recruitment. Of these, 136 studies (89%) used the terms “sex” or “gender” when reporting demographic characteristics. Three studies used the term “sex assigned at birth”. When reporting sex and/or gender, 82/139 (59%) studies provided two descriptors for sex and/or gender (e.g., male and female; men and women), 39/139 (28%) studies provided one descriptor (e.g., female) despite not being sex and/or gender exclusive. Four studies provided more than 2 descriptors (e.g., transgender women). In all studies, it was unclear how sex and/or gender was defined. In all but three studies, it was unclear how sex and/or gender was collected and whether data collection methods allowed for gender diverse options (e.g., non-binary) to be selected.
Limitations: Only 5 journals were surveyed.
Conclusions and implications of key findings: The lack of inclusive reporting of gender and/or sex characteristics limits the scope and applicability of research in physiotherapy to the full spectrum of human experiences.
PROSPERO Registration: CRD42022383976.
Objectives: To determine the nature and extent of reporting sex and/or gender information in randomised controlled trials of physiotherapy interventions.
Data sources: Physiotherapy, Journal of Physiotherapy, Physical Therapy, Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy, and Journal of Orthopaedics and Sports Physical Therapy.
Study selection or eligibility criteria
Randomised controlled trials of physiotherapy interventions published between 2018-2024 were independently screened by two reviewers throughout title/abstract and full-text stages, then data were extracted from eligible full texts. Information on whether and how sex and/or gender data were collected, reported, and defined were extracted.
Synthesis methods: Data were analysed descriptively using frequencies and percentages.
Results: Of 182 studies included in the review, 153 studies did not have sex and/or gender exclusive recruitment. Of these, 136 studies (89%) used the terms “sex” or “gender” when reporting demographic characteristics. Three studies used the term “sex assigned at birth”. When reporting sex and/or gender, 82/139 (59%) studies provided two descriptors for sex and/or gender (e.g., male and female; men and women), 39/139 (28%) studies provided one descriptor (e.g., female) despite not being sex and/or gender exclusive. Four studies provided more than 2 descriptors (e.g., transgender women). In all studies, it was unclear how sex and/or gender was defined. In all but three studies, it was unclear how sex and/or gender was collected and whether data collection methods allowed for gender diverse options (e.g., non-binary) to be selected.
Limitations: Only 5 journals were surveyed.
Conclusions and implications of key findings: The lack of inclusive reporting of gender and/or sex characteristics limits the scope and applicability of research in physiotherapy to the full spectrum of human experiences.
PROSPERO Registration: CRD42022383976.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 101450 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-8 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Physiotherapy (United Kingdom) |
| Volume | 126 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 31 Oct 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Copyright the Author(s) 2024. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.Keywords
- sex
- gender identity
- reporting
- physiotherapy
- randomised controlled trials