Training and knowledge of women's health topics: A survey of neuropsychologists and trainees.

Abstract

Objective: Training in women's health topics is limited, impacting clinicians' preparedness to address sex-specific concerns. Little is known about the extent neuropsychologists receive structured education in these areas or their comfort with addressing women-specific neurocognitive concerns in practice. This study examined neuropsychologists' self-reported training exposure, clinical comfort, and objective knowledge regarding women's health. Method: A cross-sectional online survey was completed by neuropsychology trainees (29%) and professionals (34% early-, 20% mid-, 17% senior-career) recruited through listservs and social media. Demographics, self-reported training exposure and clinical comfort, and an objective 5-item knowledge quiz were collected. Descriptive statistics examined differences in comfort and knowledge by training, work setting, and career stage. Results: Participants (n = 122) were predominantly white/non-Hispanic (84%) women (91%) in the United States (89%), with diverse professional roles and work settings. Results showed 59% reported no formal training and 41% reported "slight to no comfort" addressing women's health concerns. Although item-level accuracy on the knowledge quiz was high (68.03-95.08%), 48% of participants answered all items correctly; performance did not differ by training, setting, or career stage. Conclusions: Findings indicate limited formal training, low comfort addressing women-specific neurocognitive issues in clinical care but intact knowledge on common women's health questions. This gap may perpetuate sex-related disparities in patient care and research in this area. Formalized training initiatives are warranted to improve confidence and competence for neuropsychologists.