AUDITING THE REPRESENTATION OF FEMALE ATHLETES IN SPORTS MEDICINE RESEARCH: HIP LABRAL REPAIR

Authors

L Frye
B Ose
D Wentzel
R McEntee
A Herda
S Mullen
P Schroeppel
B Vopat
L Vopat

Abstract

¹Libby Frye, ¹Ben Ose, ¹Dylan Wentzel, ²Richard McEntee, ²Ashley Herda, ²Scott Mullen, ²Paul Schroeppel, ²Bryan Vopat, & ²Lisa Vopat

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

PURPOSE: Female athletes have historically been underrepresented in sports science/sports medicine (SSSM) research. Currently it is unknown if female athletes have adequate representation in hip labral repair research. This paper seeks to systematically review and audit the current literature regarding the representation of female athletes in studies examining arthroscopic hip labral repair procedures. METHODS: The audit presented was performed according to the methods thoroughly outlined by Smith et al. Studies identified were analyzed regarding seven factors: study population, athletic caliber, menstrual status, research theme, sample of males and females, journal impact factor, and paper Altmetric score. RESULTS: We identified 62 studies to be included in this audit. Females made up 55% of the population of participants. Female-only studies represented 5% of studies investigated. No studies investigated outcomes of female participants at the highest athletic caliber, Tier 5. Menstrual status was not considered or included as a variable in any study. Participants within athletic performance, indirect association, and health research theme had 32.8%, 61.1%, and 58.6% female representation, respectively. Median impact factor was similar among study population classifications. Study Altmetric score was highest among male-only studies and studies of Tier 5 athletic caliber. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, there was a similar prevalence of female to male participants in hip labral repair research, with a 55% to 45% female to male ratio in all studies included in this review. Despite this, there is a lack of female-only studies, inclusion of menstrual status, high-level female athletes, and female participants evaluated for performance outcomes. Future research in hip labral repair surgery should be focused on high-level female athlete populations following hip labral repair.

Recommended Citation

Frye, L; Ose, B; Wentzel, D; McEntee, R; Herda, A; Mullen, S; Schroeppel, P; Vopat, B; and Vopat, L (2024) "AUDITING THE REPRESENTATION OF FEMALE ATHLETES IN SPORTS MEDICINE RESEARCH: HIP LABRAL REPAIR," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 11: Iss. 11, Article 28.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol11/iss11/28