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Faculty action. A series of studies by Phyllis Carr,
a MED associate professor of medicine and an associate dean for student
affairs, and her colleagues at the School of Medicine reveals substantial
evidence of significant disadvantages and obstacles to advancement for
women and minority faculty in academic medicine. With funding from the
W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Carr and her associates, including Tom Inui,
CEO of the Regenstrief Institute, and Janet Bickel of the American Association
of Medical Colleges, will produce a handbook for medical school faculty
that covers such topics as mentoring, negotiation, and other strategies
for dealing with these challenges.
A 1998 study by Carr, Robert Friedman, a MED professor of medicine, and
colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital found that care of dependents
often delayed advancement of female medical school faculty. “While
women with children had similar career aspirations and goals as men, the
women spent almost all their nonworking time caring for children, or in
some cases, parents,” the authors reported in the Annals of Internal
Medicine. Among the obstacles these faculty members faced were difficulties
attending meetings scheduled early or late in the day and the lack of
on-site child care, emergency leave, and part-time tenure tracks.
“Women with children published fewer peer-reviewed research studies,
got less research funding, and reported less career progress and satisfaction
with their careers than did men with children,” says Carr. A related
study by the authors, which was published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association, revealed that minority faculty achieved lower academic
ranks than nonminority faculty with comparable academic achievement.
A later study, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found that
female medical school faculty members were nearly two and a half times
more likely than male faculty to perceive gender discrimination in their
work environment. Nearly 30 percent of women faculty reported serious
sexual harassment -- unwanted sexual advances, bribery, or threats --
and more than half reported sexual harassment by a superior or colleague,
compared to 5 percent of men. Qualitative studies, funded by the Josiah
Macy, Jr., Foundation, have added greater understanding and clarity regarding
the actual experience of gender and racial discrimination in academic
medicine and how to address it.
“The issue of gender bias in medical schools has broad impact,”
says Carr. “If we don’t correct this now, it will be passed
on to the next generation of physicians in training.” The handbook,
she expects, will be a step in the right direction.
Brushing matters. While it’s well-known
that daily brushing and flossing are essential for healthy teeth, a recent
study by researchers at the School of Public Health and the Henry M. Goldman
School of Dental Medicine is the first to show that oral hygiene can prevent
tooth loss. Previous studies had established the importance of oral hygiene
in preventing specific oral diseases, such as gum disease, but had not
documented the long-term benefits for tooth retention. The recent study
also found that consistent, long-term preventive behaviors result in greater
benefits than those done over a short term.
The team, led by Nancy Kressin, an SPH associate professor and a member
of the Center for Health Quality Outcomes and Economic Research at the
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Bedford, Mass., followed
736 men over a period of more than 40 years. The men, who were enrolled
in the Dental Component of the VA Normative Aging Study, were given oral
exams every three years and completed questionnaires about their oral
self-care practices.
The researchers found that those who brushed their teeth more than once
a day were 38 percent less likely to lose their teeth than nonbrushers,
those who flossed their teeth daily reduced their risk of tooth loss by
32 percent, and those who had annual dental cleanings reduced their tooth
loss by 27 percent. The study also revealed that smokers are more likely
to lose their teeth than nonsmokers (2.3 times more likely for heavy smokers,
1.5 times more likely for light smokers). In addition, those with a higher
level of education -- college graduates compared to high school graduates
-- also had greater tooth retention.
This work was published in the February issue of the Journal of Dental
Research.
"Research
Briefs" is written by Joan Schwartz in the Office of the Provost. To read
more about BU research, visit http://www.bu.edu/research.
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February 2003
Boston University
Office of University Relations