We are pleased to announce a spring workshop series at the UZH Digital Society Initiative‘s  Health Community: Cycles of Care!

Digital women’s health sits at the intersection of medicine, technology, sociology, and intersectionally feminist design. Yet, despite growing evidence of sex- and gender-specific differences, their integration into research design, data analysis, and applied practice remains fragmented, inconsistent, and methodologically underdeveloped.

This workshop series therefore brings together researchers and practitioners across medicine, technology, sociology, and feminist design who work with sex- and gender-specific data focusing on 

• how to better (best) integrate such data into research and practice 
• sharing evidence and best-case practices and 
• identify and closing gaps and biases in data, design, communication, and care

Each workshop session will combine keynote inputs, interactive group work, and open discussion.

Contributions and materials from the sessions will feed into a living document compiling best practices, tools, and resources (e.g., validated questionnaires, datasets, GitHub repositories, R packages, and design principles). The goal is to translate these insights into a joint scholarly publication advancing the field of digital women’s health together with all interested workshop participants.

📅 Thursday, 26 March 2026 – 16:30–20:00
📍 University of Zurich, Digital Society Initiative, Building SOC, Rämistrasse 69
💻 Hybrid/Zoom: https://uzh.zoom.us/j/61614164169?pwd=M854hHd13cQsGr6AHVTDIjKzNxOSfH.1 

This opening session introduces the conceptual foundations of sex- and gender-sensitive research and care. Speakers will highlight why integrating sex and gender matters for scientific validity, clinical effectiveness, and equitable health innovation.

16.30 – 16.40 Welcome & Introduction
Prof. Dr. Marcia Nißen, Professor of Health Technologies, Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Science

16.40 – 17.20 Why Sex and Gender Matter in Research and Health Innovation (Keynote + Q&A)
Dr. med. Jeanne Moor, MSc, Physician-Scientist at the Chair for Gender Medicine, University of Zurich

This keynote will introduce why sex and gender are critical factors in research, healthcare, and women’s health. It explores how biological and sociocultural differences influence health outcomes, why they are often overlooked, and how researchers and practitioners can better integrate sex- and gender-sensitive approaches into their work.

17.20 – 18.00 Beyond representation: Evidence and roadmap to turn health equity into action (Keynote + Q&A)
Enriqueta Vallejo Yagüe, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Zurich,

This keynote will move beyond the question of representation to explore how health equity can be systematically integrated into research practice. It introduces the ETIE framework (Explore, Tailor, Implement, Evaluate), which provides a structured approach to identifying and addressing key diversity domains such as sex, gender, age, socioeconomic status, and health literacy. The talk will highlight how these interconnected factors shape health outcomes and research validity, and how researchers can operationalize them across different stages of the research process. It will also address current challenges, including limited data availability, and outline practical steps toward more equitable, inclusive, and impactful health research.

18.00 – 18.15 Break

18.15 – 19.15 Group Work: World Café

In the interactive sessions, participants will discuss key questions such as:

• Why are sex and gender differences often overlooked in research and digital health design?
• What types of data and measures are required to capture sex- and gender-specific factors?
• How can researchers and practitioners integrate these considerations into their work?

19.15 – 20.00 Apéro

📅 Thursday, 30 April 2026 – 15.00 – 19.00h
📍 University of Zurich, Digital Society Initiative, Building SOC, Rämistrasse 69

Inclusive research depends on inclusive recruitment. This session focuses on strategies for recruiting diverse populations in health and digital health studies.

Topics include:

• Challenges in recruiting underrepresented populations
• Gender-sensitive recruitment strategies
• Ethical considerations and trust-building
• Digital recruitment methods and community engagement

Participants will share experiences and collaboratively identify best practices for inclusive participant recruitment in digital health research.

15.00 – 15.10 Welcome Note 
Marinja Principe, PhD Candidate, University of Zurich, People and Computing Lab

15.15 – 15.45 Digital pathways to overcome stigma and bias in digital health technology development.
Dr. Danielly de Paula, Lecturer, University College Cork

This keynote will explore how social stigma and implicit medical bias shape access to care and innovation in women’s health, and why these barriers continue to constrain the development of digital health solutions. It will introduce two digital pathways through which innovators can strategically engage digital influencers and online health communities as vehicles for delivering evidence-based online interventions aimed at reducing the impact of these barriers.

15.45 – 16.15 Name of presentation still to be defined ;)
Abdelilah Hamamou, PhD Candidate, Radboud university medical center (Radboudumc), Department of Primary and Community Care, Unit Gender in Primary and Transmural Care

Abdelilah Hamamou is a PhD candidate at Radboud university medical center (Radboudumc), where his research focuses on the role of sex and gender in health outcomes, particularly within rheumatic diseases. His work explores how gender-related factors influence health-related quality of life and aims to improve gender-sensitive approaches in both research and clinical practice. He is also actively involved in international initiatives to advance sex and gender in health research.

16.15 – 16.45 Coffee Break

16.45 – 18.30 Group Work: World Café

18.30 – 19.00 Apéro

📅 Wednesday, 20 May March 2026 – 15.00 – 19.00h
📍 University of Zurich, Digital Society Initiative, Building SOC, Rämistrasse 69

This session explores methodological approaches for integrating intersectional sex and gender into research design and analysis.

Topics include:

• Sex- and gender-sensitive study designs
• Measurement tools and validated scales
• Data analysis strategies for sex- and gender-differentiated data
• Digital tools and infrastructures for collecting and analyzing health data

In the interactive session, participants will identify, collect, and develop methodological guidelines and practical tools.

15.00 – 15.10 Welcome Note 
Name, Role, Affiliation, Title of Presentation

15.15 – 15.45 Keynote 1
Name, Role, Affiliation, Title of Presentation

15.45 – 16.15 Keynote 2
Name, Role, Affiliation, Title of Presentation

16.15 – 16.45 Coffee Break

16.45 – 18.30 Group Work: World Café

18.30 – 19.00 Apéro

📅 Thursday, June 4 2026 – 15.00 – 19.00h
📍 University of Zurich, Digital Society Initiative, Building SOC, Rämistrasse 69

The final workshop focuses on translating research insights into broader societal impact.

Topics include:

• Communicating research on sex and gender in health
• Translating evidence into policy and practice
• Activism, advocacy, and feminist technology design
• Building interdisciplinary networks for lasting impact

15.00 – 15.10 Welcome Note 
Name, Role, Affiliation, Title of Presentation

15.15 – 15.45 Keynote 1
Name, Role, Affiliation, Title of Presentation

15.45 – 16.15 Keynote 2
Name, Role, Affiliation, Title of Presentation

16.15 – 16.45 Coffee Break

16.45 – 18.30 Group Work: World Café

18.30 – 19.00 Apéro

Researchers may engage with the workshop series in multiple ways:

• attend keynote talks (online or in person)
• participate in the interactive workshop sessions (in person, limited seats)
• contribute asynchronously via the shared collaboration board
• contribute to the final framework and publication

This flexible format aims to support interdisciplinary exchange and sustained collaboration, while lowering barriers to participation.

Each session begins with one or two keynote talks introducing the theme of the workshop.

Keynotes are:

• open to the public
• accessible both in person and online
• recorded and made available afterwards

This allows interested participants to engage with the core ideas and discussions of the series even if they cannot attend the interactive workshop sessions.

Following the keynote talks, each session includes interactive workshop activities designed to foster discussion, reflection, and collaborative work.

To enable deeper dialogue and meaningful exchange, the workshop components are primarily in-person.

• 30 seats available per session
• participants may register for individual sessions or the full series
• activities include small group discussions, collaborative exercises, and resource sharing

To enable broader participation across disciplines and institutions, the workshop series includes a shared online collaboration space.

Participants can contribute to the ongoing discussions and outputs through a shared Miro board, which will serve as a collaborative workspace across sessions.

The board will allow participants to:

• share relevant papers, datasets, tools, and resources
• contribute examples of good practices and case studies
• add methodological recommendations
• highlight gaps and open research questions

This means that researchers who cannot attend a specific session can still contribute ideas and resources asynchronously.

Insights from workshop discussions and contributions will be curated into a living document, which will include:

• summaries of key discussions
• curated tools and resources
• methodological guidance
• emerging research questions

Participants contributing to this process will be invited to participate in the development of a Digital Women’s Health Framework v2.0 and a potential joint scholarly publication.

Access to our living Miro Board: Miro Board – Cycles of Care 2026 (PW: cycles-of-care-2026)

Alongside the development of shared outputs, this initiative fosters an ongoing, interdisciplinary community through unmute.

Nißen, M., Sou, D., Kowatsch, T., Digital Female Health: Advancing Women-Centric Human-Computer Interaction Research, Mensch und Computer 2024 – Workshopband. Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V.. MCI-WS14: Bedürfnisse sind unterschiedlich und verändern sich, Methoden auch? Umdenken bei Forschungsmethoden. Karlsruhe, Germany 1.-4. September 2024, 10.18420/muc2024-mci-ws14-199