The (im)possibilities of returning to work after a stroke.

Background: What a stroke means for working-age persons has not been sufficiently studied from a sociological perspective.

Objective: This article uses the empirical material of a larger study to describe and analyze how institutional practices and discourses influence attempts to return to work after a stroke.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten persons who have had a stroke and ten civil servants and professionals from the Swedish Public Employment Service, the Social Insurance Agency, and different health care institutions.

Gender equality in the work of local research ethics committees in Europe: a study of practice in five countries.

Background: Funding organisations and research ethics committees (RECs) should play a part in strengthening attention to gender equality in clinical research. In the research policy of European Union (EU), funding measures have been taken to realise this, but such measures are lacking in the EU policy regarding RECs.

Objective: To explore how RECs in Austria, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands and Sweden deal with gender equality issues by asking two questions: (1) Do existing procedures promote representation of women and gender expertise in the committee? (2) How are sex and gender issues dealt with in protocol evaluation?

Methods: Two RECs were selected from each country.

[Medical education seemingly "immune" to discussions on sex and gender. A study indicates that the gender perspective in teaching is limited].

This article builds upon qualitative interviews with teachers and students in the medical education at Lund university. The results found that a gender perspective is understood primarily in terms of the biological body. Awareness about the different conditions for male and female doctors in the labour market is also apparent.