Using sex & gender in routinely collected data to improve health equity & health outcomes
As the call for equity and inclusivity in health care gains traction, better understanding the role of sex and gender in administrative data is paramount. HDRN Canada IDEA Fellow Morgan Stirling, a PhD candidate at the University of Manitoba, is at the forefront of this transformative work.
“Understanding how sex and gender data are collected and analyzed is one of the biggest gaps in health research today,” Stirling said. “This gap means we aren’t fully able to account for the nuanced ways in which health disparities manifest across different populations,” leading to ongoing inequities within health care systems.
Understanding how sex and gender data are collected and analyzed is one of the biggest gaps in health research today. ~ Morgan Stirling
Stirling’s doctoral research focuses on how conventional data collection methods often fail to capture the lived realities of people whose identities don’t fit within the traditional male-female binary. For them, this oversight represents a significant issue in health care. “A lot of the data we collect are based on binary assumptions,” he explained. “But when we broaden the scope, when we consider gender as a spectrum, we uncover new disparities that were previously invisible.” Once made visible, these disparities can be addressed and ameliorated, if not eradicated.
According to Stirling, improving data collection methods can enable evidence-based, and therefore better informed, health care and policy decisions. “Accurate sex and gender data are crucial in understanding how health conditions, access to care, and treatment responses vary among different groups. Transgender and non-binary individuals, for instance, are often overlooked in research and health care practices due to outdated data categories.”
The key issue, Stirling explained, is that gender is not static; it’s fluid. “When we collect data, we need to account for the different ways people express their gender and how this affects their health outcomes.” In their role with HDRN Canada, Stirling advocates for more inclusive data frameworks that reflect the diversity of sex and gender identities in the population. “The challenge right now is that much of the data we use are coded as binary—male or female—because it’s easier to collect,” they noted. “But this simplicity often overlooks the reality of people’s experiences.”
This gap in data collection has broader implications. Without accurate data, Stirling pointed out, it is difficult to make informed decisions about policies, treatment protocols, and care guidelines. “We need data that reflect the diversity of experiences, data that show how sex and gender impact not just biological health, but social, psychological, and economic factors as well.” For Stirling, it’s not just a technical challenge, but a matter of social justice. “Inclusion isn’t just about being politically correct. It’s about ensuring all people are seen and understood in the context of their health care needs. Data are the starting point for that understanding.”
But advocating for inclusive data goes beyond raising awareness, Stirling added. “It’s about creating real change. It’s about redefining how we think about health data. By making data inclusive, we ensure that everyone, regardless of their gender identity or sex, has equal access to the care they need.”
Watch Stirling’s Big IDEAs About Health Data presentation, Beyond the Binary: Using Sex & Gender in Routinely Collected Data, to learn more.