EQUIMED investigates sex and gender inequalities in implantable medical devices. Through interviews and multidisciplinary research, it aims to improve equity in medical technology.

Despite technological advancements, medical devices do not function the same way for men and women, with women experiencing more adverse effects. Implantable devices are particularly affected by sex and gender biases. EQUIMED studies this issue in Switzerland, the UK, and Germany by analyzing data, interviewing experts and patients, and evaluating ethical policies. Its goal is to make these devices safer and more effective for everyone.

EQUIMED seeks to understand and reduce these inequalities by exploring why women and gender minorities face higher risks and what factors contribute to these disparities. Its research will support the development of fairer solutions for implantable medical devices, such as pacemakers and neural implants, while also setting new ethical standards in medical technology.

By addressing biases in research, design, and regulation, EQUIMED aims to improve the safety of medical devices for all. The project will provide evidence-based recommendations to help policymakers, manufacturers, and healthcare professionals create more inclusive technologies. Collaboration between regulators, industry, and healthcare providers is essential to ensuring safer and fairer medical devices for everyone.

Imported from Grants Tool 4703090

Released in November 2022, ChatGPT gained over 100 million users in just two months to become the fastest growing application of all time. This Natural Language Processing Artificial Intelligence is capable of producing human-like responses on an incredibly large range of topics. It is inevitable that ordinary people will use it for medical diagnostic purposes, much as they do any other search engine. Although it, and other NLP tools like it, are comparable in diagnostic accuracy to human doctors, their use as substitutes to, or surrogates for, human doctors raises numerous ethical challenges. Not least of which is the impact this will have on vital doctor-patient relationships in under-served communities.

Current research focuses on quantitative research which does not take into consideration real-world patient experiences. The proposed project will provide an in-depth analysis of real-world patient experiences of using NLP tools in comparison to human doctors.

Following a scoping review, the project will use a novel qualitative research methodology. Real-world patients will be interviewed before a doctor’s consultation. They will then immediately engage in a similar mock consultation with an NLP tool. Data will be subjected to thematic analysis and recommendations produced for NLP tool developers and Swiss policy makers.   

Balance im Klinikalltag: Wie Ärzt|innen mit Interessenkonflikten umgehen.

Das Projekt befasst sich mit den Einflüssen Dritter, wie beispielsweise die pharmazeutische und medizintechnische Industrie oder Versicherungsunternehmen, auf den klinischen Alltag von Ärzt:innen. Wir untersuchen, welche Interessenkonflikte Ärzt:innen erleben, wie sie diese Einflüsse wahrnehmen und wie sie mit ihnen umgehen. Von besonderem Interesse ist, wie sich diese Einflüsse auf den Aufbau und die Pflege von Beziehungen zu Patienten auswirken. Dies ist wichtig, da die Arzt-Patienten-Beziehung direkt mit den Ergebnismarkern klinischer Interventionen verknüpft ist. Wir führen Interviews durch, welche etwa eine Stunde dauern. Sie können persönlich oder online, auf Englisch oder Deutsch durchgeführt werden. Es können alle Mediziner und Mediziner:innen teilnehmen, welche mindestens ein Jahr im Schweizer Gesundheitssystem tätig waren.

Sind Sie interessiert an der Studie teilzunehmen? Bitte kontaktieren Sie helene.seaward@unibas.ch um einen Termin für das 60-minütige Interview zu vereinbaren.

Balance in clinical practice: How physicians deal with conflicts of interest.

The project concerns the influences of third parties, such as the pharmaceutical and medical device industry or insurance companies, on physicians' clinical practice. We are interested in what conflicts of interest physicians experience, how they perceive these influences, and how they deal with them. Of particular interest is how these influences affect the development and maintenance of relationships with patients. This is important because the doctor-patient relationship is directly linked to the outcome markers of clinical interventions.

Are you a physician working in Switzerland and interested in participating? Please contact helene.seaward@unibas.ch - the interview takes about 60 minutes.

Funding

SAMW Käthe Zingg Schwichtenberg Fund, call 2023

KZS Seed Grant «Dual loyalty in clinical settings – how do third-party interests affect the quality of doctor-patient relationships?»

https://www.samw.ch/de/Foerderung/Kaethe-Zingg-Schwichtenberg-Fonds.html