Abstract
Background
Recent years have seen a considerable shift from male doctors to female doctors in
the field of gynecology. Female doctors are traditionally more involved with planning
and maintaining their family. For gynecology, this could be associated with a risk
that research activities will decrease, particularly if results are published in scientific
journals.
Methods
In view of this shift, a comparative observational study was carried for 2022 in which
1306 publications were matched to 1786 female and male doctors reported on the websites
of the 44 locations of university gynecology departments in Germany. In addition,
the volume of publications issued between 2014 and 2022 was compared for Germany,
France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In Germany, the volume of publications
in Gynecology was additionally compared with the publication outputs of the specialties
Urology and Trauma Surgery.
Results
Since 2014, the increase in the numbers of publications in the field of Gynecology
in Germany was lower (225%) than that of the countries with which it was compared
(238%/252%/260% for F/UK/USA). When Gynecology was compared with other medical specialties
in Germany, the number of publications in Urology were found to have increased at
a lower rate (196%) while the number of publications in the field of Trauma Surgery
increased by more (286%) than that of Gynecology. At the start of 2023, the percentage
of women who were working as doctors at the lowest hierarchical level (junior doctor)
was 81%. The publication output per capita of female doctors working at lower levels
in the medical hierarchy, i.e., working as junior doctors and senior physicians, was
between 40% and 80% lower than that of male doctors working at the same level. However,
female directors published as much as male directors did. In the lower hierarchy levels,
men were up to 14% more likely to be without
an academic title. Predictors for more extensive publication activities by young female
and male doctors include the extent and quality of publications by doctors in senior
positions, the presence of a comprehensive cancer center or an institute for human
genetics at the location where the young doctors were working, and joint publications
with foreign authors.
Conclusion
For the German Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics, the results suggest a number
of approaches to promote young researchers. The support provided to young female doctors
is especially important as this should help to retain them as junior researchers over
the long term.
Keywords gynecology - obstetrics - publication output - research activity
