AUDITING THE REPRESENTATION OF FEMALE ATHLETES IN SPORTS MEDICINE RESEARCH: ROTATOR CUFF REPAIR

Authors

I Roepe
P Klug
J Adams
R Shoaib
R Long
B Vopat
L Vopat

Abstract

Isaiah Roepe¹, Peter Klug¹, Jacob Adams¹, Rabiya Shoaib², Rachel Long¹, Bryan Vopat¹, & Lisa Vopat¹

¹University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas; ²University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, Missouri

PURPOSE: While female representation within athletics has increased, equality in sports medicine research falls flat. The purpose of this project was to systematically review the primary literature available on rotator cuff repair and assess the representation of female athletes in the current literature based on a standardized protocol. METHODS: This was a systematic audit of the available literature regarding rotator cuff repair using a standardized protocol published by Smith et al. in 2022. Primary factors identified and analyzed included the following: study population, athletic caliber, menstrual status, research theme, sample of males and females, journal impact factor, and paper Altmetric score. RESULTS: 20 articles met the inclusion criteria. 650 rotator cuff repairs were identified with 514 (79%) of repairs studied occurring in males and 136 (20%) occurring in females. The majority of studies (15/20, 75%) were mixed cohort, followed by 3 male only studies (3/20, 15%), and 2 female only studies (2/20, 10%). Out of 479 shoulders involved within the mixed-sex cohort, 353 (73%) were male while 126 (26%) were female. 1 female only study investigated national athletes, and the other investigated international athletes. All mixed-sex cohorts investigated only health outcomes. The 2 female only studies only investigated health outcomes. All female only studies and mixed-sex cohort studies failed to include menstruation as a variable. CONCLUSION: Females are not adequately represented in research regarding rotator cuff repair. Future research should focus on increasing female-only studies, inclusion of menstrual status in study design and evaluating performance outcomes in the setting rotator cuff repair.

Recommended Citation

Roepe, I; Klug, P; Adams, J; Shoaib, R; Long, R; Vopat, B; and Vopat, L (2024) "AUDITING THE REPRESENTATION OF FEMALE ATHLETES IN SPORTS MEDICINE RESEARCH: ROTATOR CUFF REPAIR," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 11: Iss. 11, Article 21.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol11/iss11/21