The European Pain Federation EFIC is pleased to announce its endorsement of the PAINDIFF recommendations for the inclusion and study of sex and gender in research which have been recently been published in Nature Neuroscience (click here for access to the manuscript link to manuscript).
The importance of sex and gender as variables in research is well recognised but inconsistently explored. The PAINDIFF Network is a group of leading international pain experts, early career researcher and patient advocates who have developed recommendations on methodological approaches for the inclusion and best practice study of sex and gender as variables in pain research, which are broadly applicable across the spectrum of biopsychosocial research. Three complementary approaches, culminating in a PAINDIFF consensus conference, developed a comprehensive methodological framework and thirteen recommendations for studying sex and gender as variables in pain research. Five of the recommendations apply to the majority of pain research studies, three additional recommendations apply specifically to preclinical studies, and an additional five recommendations are specifically applicable to studies with human participants. Recommendations for key stakeholders such as editors, reviewers, funding bodies, policy makers have also been developed. Wide adoption and implementation of these recommendations will reduce variability, improve reproducibility, and enhance translatability of research findings within and beyond the field of pain, ultimately leading to better outcomes for all.
For more information about PAINDIFF and its objectives, visit the PAINDIFF website at www.paindiff.com
