Primary care physicians and gender medicine: validation of the Italian version of Nijmegen Gender Awareness in Medicine Scale (N-GAMS)

Abstract Objective To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Nijmegen Gender Awareness Scale – N-GAMS to the Italian context. Methods The structure of N-GAMS was evaluated by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and its invariance was tested with multigroup techniques The criterion-related validity of the measure was analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient with physician empathy and ambivalent sexism Results 431 Italian physicians (44.5% women; Mage = 50.1) completed the Italian version of N-GAMS along with measures of physician’s empathy and sexism. 311 were primary care physicians and 120 were medical students specializing in primary care. CFA showed that the N-GAMS consists of three factors: Gender Sensitivity (GS), Gender-Role Ideology toward Patients (GRI-P), and Gender-Role Ideology toward Doctors (GRI-D). Multigroup analysis showed that N-GAMS was invariant between women and men and between physicians in service and postgraduate medical students. Finally, N-GAMS showed satisfactory concurrent criterion‑related validity for both physician empathy and ambivalent sexism. Conclusion This study provides an opportunity to extend current knowledge about the psychometric qualities of the N-GAMS for assessing gender awareness in physicians in training Practice Implications The Italian version of the N-GAMS appears to be a robust psychological instrument for use in research and clinical settings.