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Sponsorship describes a set of actions wherein an influential champion (sponsor) uses their position to actively support a colleagues career by helping them gain visibility, recognition, and/or positions. There is growing awareness of the importance of sponsorship for career advancement in academic medicine, particularly for women and those who are historically underrepresented and excluded in medicine (UIM). This scoping review examines the current landscape of evidence, and knowledge gaps, on sponsorship as it relates to career advancement in academic medicine for women and UIM faculty. We searched peer-reviewed literature in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science (WoS) over the past 50 years (from 1973 through July 2023). Sixteen studies were included in the final review. We found relative consensus on sponsorship definition and value to career advancement. Heterogeneity in study design limited our ability to directly compare study outcomes. All included studies focused on gender differences in sponsorship: two of four quantitative studies found men were more likely to receive sponsorship, one reported no gender differences, and one was insufficiently powered. All but one of the qualitative studies reported gender differences, with women less likely to access or be identified for sponsorship. The mixed-methods studies suggested sponsorship may vary by career stage. Only two studies analyzed sponsorship for UIM populations. The existing data are inconclusive regarding best ways to measure and assess sponsorship, what institutional support (e.g., structured programs, formal recognition, or incentives for sponsorship) should look like, and at what career stage sponsorship is most important. Addressing this knowledge gap will be critically important for understanding what sponsorship best practices, if any, should be used to promote equity in career advancement in academic medicine. We advocate for commitment at the institutional and national levels to develop new infrastructure for transparently and equitably supporting women and UIM in career advancement.

BACKGROUND: Women and underrepresented in medicine and the health sciences (URiM) faculty face inequities in advancement. Career sponsorship may be a remedy. Few studies have described sponsorship in academic medicine and none across an institution. OBJECTIVE: To examine faculty awareness, experiences, and perceptions of sponsorship at a large academic health center. DESIGN: Anonymous online survey. PARTICIPANTS: Faculty with a ≥50% appointment. MAIN MEASURES: The survey contained 31 Likert, multiple-choice, yes/no, and open-ended questions about familiarity with the concept of sponsorship; experience of having or being a sponsor; receipt of specific sponsorship activities; sponsorship impact and satisfaction; mentorship and sponsorship co-occurrence; and perception of inequities. Open-ended questions were analyzed using content analysis. KEY RESULTS: Thirty-one percent of the surveyed faculty (903/2900) responded of whom 53% (477/903) were women and 10% (95/903) were URiM. Familiarity with sponsorship was higher among assistant (91%, 269/894) and associate (182/894; 64%) professors versus full professors (38%, 329/894); women (67%, 319/488) versus men (62%, 169/488); and URiM (77%, 66/517) versus non-URiM faculty (55%, 451/517). A majority had a personal sponsor (528/691; 76%) during their career and were satisfied with their sponsorship (64%, 532/828). However, when responses from faculty of different professorial ranks were stratified by gender and URiM identity, we observed possible cohort effects. Furthermore, 55% (398/718) of respondents perceived that women received less sponsorship than men and 46% (312/672) that URiM faculty received less than their peers. We identified seven qualitative themes: sponsorship importance, growing awareness and change, institutional biases and deficiencies, groups getting less sponsorship, people with sponsorship power, conflation with mentorship, and potential for negative impact. CONCLUSIONS: A majority of respondents at a large academic health center reported sponsorship familiarity, receipt, and satisfaction. Yet many perceived persistent institutional biases and the need for systematic change to improve sponsorship transparency, equity, and impact.

Universal depression screening in adolescent primary care often encompasses questions about suicide risk. We conducted a retrospective chart review of well-child visits where adolescents (ages 13-17.9) had endorsed self-injurious thoughts and behaviors or suicidal ideation. The goal was to investigate primary care providers' follow-up actions, including documentation, further assessment, and referrals. Over 3-quarters of the progress notes showed evidence of further assessment, and two-thirds documented same-day actions, including mental health referrals, emergency department referrals, safety plans, medication changes, primary-care follow-up, and talking to parents. Actions varied by depression severity. Cases without interventions often had justifications. Owing to the variety of possible meanings and severity underlying positive screens, providers implemented an array of interventions, using clinical judgment to tailor actions to patients' individual needs and preferences. From these observations, we propose that standardized guidelines for suicide risk screening and follow-up should involve a clinical assessment and individualized treatment planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct-to-consumer television advertisements for pharmaceutical medications must include a major statement disclosing the drug's most important risks and side effects. However, advertisers often pair incongruent positive visual imagery with risk information presented auditorily. Incongruence violates a principle of effective communication because it distracts from information processing. Across three studies, the authors consider how audiovisual incongruity biases perceptions of an advertised drug's risks and benefits. Using moment-to-moment measurement, Study 1 reveals that the rate of change in risk perceptions increases (i.e., accelerates) immediately after the flow of positive imagery is interrupted by a scene change during the major statement, but no such effect is observed for the advertisement in its entirety. Using post hoc measures, the latter two studies support these results. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrate that auditory risk disclosures may be enhanced by replacing distracting imagery with congruent, reinforcing text (Study 2) or by educating consumers about how distracting imagery is used as a distraction tactic (Study 3). Implications for advertising theory and recommendations for policy makers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to highlight the physiological aspects in basal conditions and the related changes that occur under effort conditions. The research is based on the study of specialized materials in the field of physiology and medicine, in an attempt to develop a study that captures these significant changes that occur in the human body during intense physical exercises. Also, this study captures the major changes that occur in altitude conditions, specific to athletes participating in training camps in such geographical areas; the risks of unscientific exposure to altitude; the clinical picture of altitude syndrome and the main ways to recover an athlete that suffers from altitude syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]