A SYNOPTIC INVENTORY OF NEEDS FOR RESEARCH ON WOMEN AND TROPICAL PARASITIC DISEASES .2. GENDER-RELATED BIASES IN THE DIAGNOSIS AND MORBIDITY ASSESSMENT OF SCHISTOSOMIASIS IN WOMEN

A synoptic inventory developed by us (Feldmeier and Krantz, 1993) was used for systematically reviewing existing data as to how and to what degree gender- and sex-related factors influence the validity of the d iagnosis of schistosomiasis in women. Diagnostic sectors comprising su rvey methodology, parasitological methods, immunodiagnosis, detection of pathology and diagnosis of schistosomiasis in the female genital tr act have thus been scrutinized. In this way we have identified importa nt gaps in the scientific knowledge of diagnosis of an important paras itic infection. Socio-cultural and gender-related determinants have ne ver been studied systematically, and it is mostly by circumstantial ev idence that we can point out potential biases, sometimes for sex but m ore often for gender, in much of the published material concerning dia gnostic categories suitable for schistosomiasis. These errors in diagn ostic procedures and the ensuing lack of validity deserve attention fr om the fields of biomedicine and social science, preferably in a colla borative effort.