You can find more information about the project and the research content here.

Gender has a significant influence on health (or illness) and consequently on health care. Analysis of this complex topic has a long tradition in women's and gender studies in the social and health sciences and is currently being strengthened by the establishment of gender-sensitive medicine. Both perspectives complement each other; however, a synergy of the respective research approaches has so far only taken place in isolated cases. There is not only a need for action but also for theoretical-conceptual and methodological development, which we want to address with this project using the example of transplantation medicine. Recognizing that false assumptions ("myths") held by those treating women and men for certain illnesses significantly impact medical care, we will critically examine these myths. By doing so, we aim to improve diagnostics and therapy, thereby addressing and elevating the unequal treatment of the sexes to a new standard. One example of a myth is the often unconsciously assumed lower cardiovascular risk in women compared to men, which in the field of transplantation medicine sometimes leads to inadequate diagnosis and treatment of women due to the underestimated risk.

This innovative, interdisciplinary approach is tested from an epidemiological, internal medicine, immunological and sociological perspective using the example of kidney transplantation. In this way, in addition to a scientific evaluation, the assumptions about gender differences that prevail in treatment practice can also be examined and, if necessary, corrected. The results of the research project are, on the one hand, directly relevant to action and can be consolidated in the long term by feeding them into guideline processes. On the other hand, the research approach chosen here can provide important impetus for complex and integrative gender-specific research projects in the entire field of medicine, beyond transplantation research.

Principal Investigator/Speaker:

Prof. Dr. Dr. Anette Melk, Paediatric Kidney, Liver and Metabolic Diseases, MHH

Subproject 1: Epidemiology of gender differences in kidney transplantation

Prof. Dr. Siegfried Geyer, Research and Teaching Unit Medical Sociology, MHH

The following questions will be answered in this subproject: 1) Is there a difference between women and men undergoing dialysis in terms of their probability of being included on the waiting list for a kidney transplant? 2) Do women and men on a waiting list for a kidney transplant differ in terms of their chances of being transplanted or the length of time they have to wait for a transplant? 3) Do women and men who have had a transplant differ in terms of their risk of complications after the transplant? 4) Do women and men who have undergone a transplant differ in terms of the risk of losing the transplant, i.e. returning to dialysis?

Subproject 2: Gender-specific differences in the extent of diagnostics and in the intensity of therapy for cardiovascular end organ damage before and after kidney transplantation

PD Dr. Bernhard M.W.Schmidt, Clinic for Kidney and High-Altitude Diseases, MHH

Prof'in Dr. Dr. Anette Melk, Pediatric Research Center, Clinic for Pediatric Kidney, Liver and Metabolic Diseases, Center for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, MHH

In the context of less attention paid to cardiovascular disease in women in the general population, we would like to investigate the following questions here: 1) Do women who are accepted for kidney transplantation differ from male patients in terms of cardiovascular end organ damage? 2) Is the extent of cardiovascular pre-diagnostics different for women and men? 3) Are cardiovascular diseases in women diagnosed and treated in the same way as in men after kidney transplantation?

Subproject 3: Comparison of the frequency and clinical significance of the antibody response of kidney transplanted women and men

Prof' in Dr. Christine S. Falk, Institute for Transplantation Immunology, MHH

Based on the negative influence of increased PRA activity on the probability of receiving a kidney transplant and on the possibly increased risk of antibody neoplasm after transplantation, the following questions are addressed: 1) Is higher HLA-specific antibody reactivity (PRA) with complement activation actually detectable in women before transplantation than in men, and do the mothers form a subgroup with particularly high antibody activity? 2) Do women with high panel reactivity more frequently develop new genuine DSAs against the transplanted kidney?

Subproject 4: Verification of the experimental findings using the AOKN data set

Prof. Dr. Dr. Anette Melk, Pediatric Research Center, Clinic for Pediatric Kidney, Liver and Metabolic Diseases, Center for Pediatrics and Youth Medicine, MHH

Prof. Dr. Siegfried Geyer, Research and Teaching Unit Medical Sociology, MHH

PD Dr. Bernhard M.W. Schmidt, Clinic for Nephrology, Hypertension and Endocrinology, MHH

The aim of TP4 is to verify the findings of the monocentric prospective cohort study obtained in TP2 and TP3 using the anonymized health insurance data from AOKN used in TP1, whereby treatment figures from the database are used to represent the experimental and diagnostic findings. For TP2, these are findings on gender-related cardiovascular diagnostics, cardiovascular morbidity, cardiac interventions and drug treatments; for TP3, these are therapeutic measures in the event of a transplant rejection crisis, which are recorded as plasmapheresis, immunoglobulin or rituximab administration. It is examined whether examination routines and contexts that are practiced in the selected patient group at a location are also applied in general. This question aims at the transferability of the results to the whole of Lower Saxony and ultimately to the Federal Republic of Germany. This combination of clinical and epidemiological examination procedures is an explorative but at the same time highly innovative part of the overall project, which has not yet been practiced in this form.

Subproject 5: Gender differences in kidney transplantation – requirements for and implementation in guidelines

Prof. Dr. Birgit Babitsch, Department of New Public Health, University of Osnabrück

1) Do national and international guidelines on kidney transplantation take gender-specific differences into account? Which gender-specific aspects are addressed in the guidelines? 2) What gender-specific differences can be identified in kidney transplantation? How can the level of evidence of these be assessed? 3) What is the significance of the identified gender differences for high-quality treatment before, during and after kidney transplantation? How should these gender differences be integrated into the guidelines for kidney transplantation? 4) How do experts and developers assess the feasibility of gender specification in the existing guidelines for kidney transplantation? What steps need to be taken to implement this?

Subproject 6: Knowledge transfer, networking and distribution of the findings in the public discussion

Prof'in Dr. Christine S. Falk, Institute for Transplantation, MHH

Prof'in Dr. Birgit Babitsch, Department of New Public Health, University of Osnabrück

Dr. Bärbel Miemietz, Equal Opportunities Office, MHH

One of the aims of this cross-sectional project is to initiate a sustainable transfer of knowledge between the project participants and other scientists from different disciplines, but particularly from the fields of transplantation medicine and gender research. The aim is to achieve an understanding of language (terminology, subject jargons, everyday language) and of subject-specific working methods and organizational frameworks. The aim is to establish a network of epidemiologists, health scientists, natural scientists and medical doctors who conduct research in the field of sex/gender issues. It is also planned to disseminate the acquired knowledge locally (MHH), nationally (Lower Saxony and federal government) and internationally. Since the project described is intended to serve as a model, an integral part of the project is the discussion and preparation of a transfer to other areas of solid organ and stem cell transplantation. In order to realize this complex and interdisciplinary research approach, an in-depth discussion with experts in gender research in medicine is planned. Extensive preliminary work and expertise in this area is already available at the MHH, as well as many years of networking in this field of research. The aim is also to collect knowledge and ideas for a possible graduate school in the field of gender-sensitive medicine at a later date.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the MHH, the study ‘The Way to the Top - 50 Years of Top Careers for Women at the MHH’ was conducted in the Equal Opportunities Office.

The anniversary provided an opportunity to take stock, to honor the achievements of women in the male-dominated field of medicine and to make their experiences usable for the present and future of a gender-equal professional culture.

The study examined how women have succeeded in achieving leading positions in clinical practice and science since the MHH was founded. To this end, biographical interviews were conducted with female (emeritus) professors. The project was supported by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture.

Project duration: October 2014 - May 2016

Project staff member

Claudia Froböse

Deputy Equal Opportunities Officer

Phone: +49 (0) 511 532-6502

Fax:+49 (0) 511 532-3441

E-Mail: Froboese.Claudia@mh-hannover.de 

The one-year preliminary study at the Hannover Medical School was designed to determine the reasons for the persistently low proportion of women in top university medical positions.

For female physicians, there are apparently two decisive hurdles on the university career ladder: the phase between the doctorate and habilitation and the time after habilitation, when the appointment as a professor is pending or fails to materialize. It is mainly senior physicians who face this second hurdle, who have often already habilitated but still have no clear prospects for advancement. On the basis of biographical interviews, the previous career paths and future career intentions of senior physicians at the MHH were recorded and analyzed.

In a second step, the motivations for leaving university medicine were considered. The contrasting juxtaposition of senior physicians and physicians who left the MHH promised a more differentiated view of the interplay of individual, structural and organization-specific factors of female career progression.

Duration: January - December 2015

Contact person

Claudia Froböse

Deputy Equal Opportunities Officer

Phone: +49 (0) 511 532-6502

Fax:+49 (0) 511 532-3441

E-Mail: Froboese.Claudia@mh-hannover.de 

Froböse, Claudia; Miemietz, Bärbel (2017): Ein Weg am Abgrund? Berufsverläufe von Professorinnen am Beispiel eines Hochschulmedizinstandortes. In: Onnen, Corinna & Rode-Breymann, Susanne (Hg.): Zum Selbstverständnis der Gender Studies. Methoden - Methodologien - theoretische Diskussionen und empirische Übersetzungen. Verlag Barbara Budrich/Budrich UniPress, 113-132.

Miemietz, Bärbel (2016/2017): Warum dauert es eigentlich so lange? Der schwierige Weg von Sex und Gender in den medizinischen Mainstream. In: Katharina Stengler (Hg.): Genderperspektiven in der Medizin (GPmed). Abstractband zur Tagungsreihe an der der Universität Leipzig. Leipzig 2016/2017, S. 81-83. Online unter: http://gender.medizin.uni-leipzig.de/fileadmin/user_upload/GPmed_Abstractband_final_web.pdf 

Neumann, Maria; Meyer, Henriette; Froböse, Claudia; Miemietz, Bärbel (2017): Hoffnungen - Erwartungen - Motive. Wie starten Nachwuchswissenschaftlerinnen in ein Mentoring-Programm? Ergebnisse einer Pilotstudie aus der Hochschulmedizin. In: Onnen, Corinna & Rode-Breymann, Susanne (Hg.): Zum Selbstverständnis der Gender Studies. Methoden - Methodologien - theoretische Diskussionen und empirische Übersetzungen. Verlag Barbara Budrich/Budrich UniPress, S. 133-151.

Neumann, Maria; Froböse, Claudia; Miemietz, Bärbel (2016): Auf dem Karriereweg. Förderung von Nachwuchswissenschaftlerinnen in der Hochschulmedizin. Personal- und Organisationsentwicklung in Einrichtungen der Lehre und Forschung. 11, 1: 22-26.  

Engelmann, Carsten; Grote, Gudela; Miemietz, Bärbel; Vaske, Bernhard & Geyer, Siegfried (2015): Weggegangen - Platz vergangen? Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift. 140, 4: e28-e35.

Miemietz, Bärbel (Hg.) unter Mitarbeit von Nino Polikashvili (2013). Medizin und Geschlecht. Perspektiven für Lehre, Forschung & Krankenversorgung. Lengerich/Berlin/Bremen/Miami/Riga/Viernheim/Wien/Zagreb: Pabst Science Publishers.

Miemietz, Bärbel, Ivanov, Christine, Othmer, Regine (2011): Medizin und Geschlecht: Perspektiven für Lehre, Praxis und Forschung. Tagung vom 3.-4. September 2010 in Hannover. Gender 3. Jg, H. 1, S. 144-149.

Miemietz, Bärbel, Ljiljana Verner, Larissa Burruano (2007): Integration geschlechterspezifischer Inhalte in das Medizincurriculum. Ein Projekt zur Qualitätssteigerung der Lehre an der Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover. In: Zeitschrift für Frauenforschung & Geschlechterstudien 25/2 (Sonderheft: "Gesundheitswissenschaftliche Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung – multidisziplinäre Projekte und Ansätze"), S. 98-110.