Health Services/Policy
Gender-Affirming Care Providers’ Perspectives on the Question of Evidence: A Qualitative Study Laura Stamm* Laura Stamm Alaap Rag Ahona Shirin Inthava Muneath Maya Daniello
Objectives: Current policies on gender-affirming care (GAC) for transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) youth often exclude the perspectives of providers who specialize in GAC. This study aims to understand the perspectives of providers (MD, DO, PA, NP) treating TGD youth in politically and socially challenging environments, paying particular attention to how they view the role of evidence in their approach to GAC.
Methods: Forty-three semi-constructed interviews with providers of GAC were conducted by the study’s principal investigator. The participants represent states with differing GAC legislation (shield law, legislative ban, no legislation), highlighting difficulties in practicing evidence-based care in areas with legislative bans. The interviews were analyzed thematically using qualitative coding. The following question is analyzed for this poster: Is there any evidence that would cause you to rethink your current position on GAC for minors? If yes, what?
Results: Of the 43 providers interviewers, 30 answered no to the question and 13 answered yes. For clinicians who answered no, the following themes emerged: evidence-based care, patient empowerment, and impact of delayed or denied care. For clinicians who answered yes, emerging themes included: open to future evidence, evidence-based care, and best practices. Regardless of their answer, providers emphasized the importance of evidence-based care to best treat TGD youth.
Conclusion: The study found that providers support necessary gender-affirming care for adolescent patients while also acknowledging the need for further research on best practices. These findings can help providers and legislators improve access to GAC for TGD youth and further the general scientific understanding of GAC.