Transitioning Bodies. The Case of Self-Prescribing Sexual Hormones in Gender Affirmation in Individuals Attending Psychiatric Services

A scoping review of institutional policies and recommendations for trans inpatient mental health care

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: International guidelines for trans-and-gender-non-conforming (TGNC) exists in outpatient settings. Compared to cisgender and heterosexual people, TGNC individuals are at a higher risk of mental health difficulties and have higher rates of inpatient mental health treatment. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER ADD TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: An international scoping review identifying the lack of guidelines existing for TGNC individuals in inpatient mental health settings. Compared to psychiatrists and psychologists, mental health nursing has the most contact with patients admitted for inpatient psychiatric treatment. The study identifies unaddressed needs in gender affirming policies and outlines preliminary policy recommendations to assist mental health staff in improving TGNC patient quality of care within the United States. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: Reforming existing guidelines or creating new guidelines based on the identified themes and gaps to improve the well-being and treatment outcomes of TGNC individuals in inpatient psychiatric settings within the United States.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Access to culturally sensitive care is critical for addressing known mental health disparities among trans-and gender-non-conforming (TGNC) individuals. Although there has been a proliferation of TGNC healthcare guidelines from accrediting bodies, policies have failed to address the needs of TGNC patients in inpatient psychiatric settings.

AIM

To identify unaddressed needs in policies and policy recommendations for the care of TGNC patients to inform recommendations for change.

METHOD

A scoping review protocol was developed following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 850 articles were reduced to seven relevant articles with six themes identified via thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Six themes were identified: lack of consistency in preferred and pronoun use, lack of communication among providers, lack of training in TGNC healthcare, personal bias, lack of formal policies, and housing segregation by sex rather than gender.

DISCUSSION

The creation of new guidelines or bolstering of existing guidelines to specifically address identified themes and gaps may improve the well-being and treatment outcomes of TGNC individuals in inpatient psychiatric settings.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

To provide a foundation for future studies to integrate these identified gaps and inform the future development of comprehensive formal policies that generalize TGNC care in inpatient settings.

A Mixed Methods Study on Healthcare Transition From Pediatric to Adult Care in Transgender and Gender-Diverse Adolescents and Young Adults

PURPOSE

This study assessed healthcare transition (HCT) readiness and barriers to HCT among transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adolescent and young adults (AYA) using mixed-method techniques.

METHODS

Fifty TGD AYA participants were surveyed using a validated transition readiness assessment questionnaire and open-ended questions examining challenges, influential factors, and health implications of HCT. Open-ended responses underwent qualitative analysis to identify consistent themes and response frequency.

RESULTS

Participants felt most prepared for communicating with providers and completing medical forms and least prepared for navigating insurance/financial systems. Half of the participants anticipated worsening mental health during HCT, with additional concerns related to transfer logistics and transphobia/discrimination. Participants identified intrinsic skills and external factors (such as social relationships) that would contribute to a more successful HCT.

DISCUSSION

TGD AYA face unique challenges in navigating the transition to adult health care, particularly related to concerns of discrimination and negative impacts on mental health, but these challenges may be mitigated by certain intrinsic resilience factors as well as targeted support from personal networks and pediatric providers.

Measuring Geographic Access to Transgender Hormone Therapy in Texas: A Three-step Floating Catchment Area Analysis

While the extant literature has established that transgender people face significant barriers to accessing healthcare, no studies to date have offered an explicitly spatial analysis of their access to trans-specific care. This study aims to fill that gap by providing a spatial analysis of access to gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) using Texas as a case study. We used the three-step floating catchment area method, which relies on census tract-level population data and location data for healthcare facilities to quantify spatial access to healthcare within a specific drive-time window, in our case 120 min. For our tract-level population estimates we adapt estimates of the rates of transgender identification from a recent data source, the Household Pulse Survey, and use these in tandem with a spatial database of GAHT providers of the lead author's creation. We then compare results of the 3SFCA with data on urbanicity and rurality, as well as which areas are deemed medically underserved. Finally, we conduct a hot-spot analysis that identifies specific areas where health services could be planned in ways that could improve both access to GAHT for trans people and access to primary care for the general population. Ultimately, we conclude that our results illustrate that patterns of access to trans-specific medical care, like GAHT, do not neatly follow patterns of access to primary care for the general population and that therefore trans communities' access to healthcare warrants specific, further investigation.

Queers in quarantine: Young LGBTQ+ people's experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden

The COVID-19 pandemic led to major restrictions of everyday life activities. This worsened the social situation of many people, and marginalized groups have been especially affected. This article explores how LGBTQ+ young adults in Sweden have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent recommendations and restrictions. Fifteen participants between 20-29 years, who self-identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+), were interviewed about their experiences. A thematic analysis of the data showed that the participants perceived their psychological wellbeing to have been greatly affected by the pandemic. Several reported symptoms of clinical depression, as well as anxiety, worry, rumination, and a heightened sensitivity to stress. Stressors included fear of the disease itself, and fear of spreading the virus, as well as the negative consequences of adhering to the recommendations of social distancing, which constantly interplayed with the marginalized position of being a young LGBTQ+ person. Most participants experienced a decrease in minority stress in face-to-face interaction with social distancing measures in place, but an increase in minority stress online. Those who faced minority stress at home experienced the isolation as particularly stressful. Limited access to the LGBTQ+ community was a common stressor. For transgender participants, the effects on transgender healthcare, such as prolonged waiting times for gender dysphoria assessment and hormone treatment, were a major challenge. Our results have added valuable knowledge to research indicating how vulnerable young adults were highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

Culturally safe, appropriate, and high-quality breast cancer screening for transgender people: A scoping review

Background

There is a recognized need for evidence to inform breast cancer screening guidelines and services for transgender people, who face barriers to accessing appropriate and inclusive health care.

Aims

This review summarized evidence for breast cancer risk and screening guidelines in transgender individuals, including the potential impact of gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT); factors that may influence screening decision-making and behaviors; and considerations for providing culturally safe, high-quality screening services.

Methods

A protocol was developed based on the Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review methodology. Searches were performed in Medline, Emcare, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library for articles reporting information on the provision of culturally safe, high-quality breast cancer screening services for transgender people.

Results

We identified 57 sources for inclusion: 13 cross-sectional studies, 6 case reports, 2 case series, 28 review or opinion articles, 6 systematic reviews, 1 qualitative study, and 1 book chapter. Evidence on rates of breast cancer screening among transgender people and the association between GAHT and breast cancer risk was inconclusive. Factors negatively associated with cancer screening behaviors included socioeconomic barriers, stigma, and lack of health provider awareness of transgender health issues. Breast cancer screening recommendations varied and were generally based on expert opinion due to the lack of clear evidence. Considerations for providing culturally safe care to transgender people were identified and mapped to the areas of workplace policies and procedures, patient information, clinic environment, professional conduct, communication, and knowledge and competency.

Discussion

Screening recommendations for transgender individuals are complicated by the lack of robust epidemiological data and clear understanding of the role GAHT may play in breast cancer pathogenesis. Guidelines have been developed based on expert opinion and are subsequently not uniform or evidence based. Further work is required to clarify and consolidate recommendations.

Mapping the Landscape of Do-it-Yourself Medicine

The practice of medicine is typically conceptualized as remaining within the boundaries of a hospital or clinic. However, in recent years, patients have been able to gain access to information about medical research as it is ongoing. As a result, there has been a rise in do-it-yourself (DIY) medicine, where individuals treat themselves for medical conditions outside of clinical settings, often mimicking experimental therapies that remain inaccessible to the wider public. For example, in DIY brain stimulation, individuals suffering from depression build at-home electrical headsets using nine-volt batteries, mimicking an experimental neuroscience technique used in scientific laboratories. In DIY fecal transplantation, those with intestinal disorders like C. Difficile and inflammatory bowel disease transplant stool from donors into themselves with the aid of blenders and enemas. In the open Artificial Pancreas System movement, diabetes patients hacked together an artificial pancreas system from their glucose monitors and insulin pumps, years before such a system was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA). To date, scholarship on DIY medicine has largely been relegated to specific medical domains (e.g., neurology, gastroenterology, infectious disease). In this paper, however, I recognize DIY medicine as a cross-cutting phenomenon that has emerged independently across medical domains but shares common features. I map the varieties of DIY medicine across these domains and suggest that four key factors lead to their creation, growth, and uptake. In doing so, this essay sheds light on an understudied area of biomedical citizen science that is likely to grow substantially in the coming decades.

Setting a research agenda in trans health: An expert assessment of priorities and issues by trans and nonbinary researchers

Background

This article is by a group of trans and nonbinary researchers and experts in the field of trans health who have conducted an analysis of trans health research needs.

Aims

To highlight topics that need further research and to outline key considerations for those conducting research in our field.

Methods

The first author conducted semi-structured interviews with all coauthors, and these were used to create a first draft of this manuscript. This draft was circulated to all authors, with edits made until consensus was reached among the authors.

Results

More comprehensive long-term research that centers trans people's experiences is needed on the risks and benefits of gender affirming hormones and surgeries. The trans health research field also needs to have a broader focus beyond medical transition or gender affirmation, including general health and routine healthcare; trans people's lives without, before, and after medical gender affirmation; and sexuality, fertility, and reproductive healthcare needs. More research is also needed on social determinants of health, including ways to make healthcare settings and other environments safer and more supportive; social and legal gender recognition; the needs of trans people who are most marginalized; and the ways in which healing happens within trans communities. The second part of this article highlights key considerations for researchers, the foremost being acknowledging trans community expertise and centering trans community members' input into research design and interpretation of findings, in advisory and/or researcher roles. Ethical considerations include maximizing benefits and minimizing harms (beneficence) and transparency and accountability to trans communities. Finally, we note the importance of conferences, grant funding, working with students, and multidisciplinary teams.

Discussion

This article outlines topics and issues needing further consideration to make the field of trans health research more responsive to the needs of trans people. This work is limited by our authorship group being mostly White, all being Anglophone, and residing in the Global North.

Effects of Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy on Progression Along the HIV Care Continuum in Transgender Women

Background

Progression along the HIV care continuum has been a key focus for improving outcomes for people with HIV (PWH). Transgender women with HIV (TGWWH) have not made the same progress as their cisgender counterparts.

Methods

All PWH identifying as transgender women receiving care at our clinic from 1/1/2015 to 12/31/2019 were identified from the electronic health records (EHRs) using International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes. Demographics, laboratory data, prescription of gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), and visit history were abstracted from the EHR. Retention in care and viral suppression were defined using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definitions. The proportions of TGWWH who were consistently retained in care or virally suppressed over time were calculated using a binary response generalized mixed model including random effects and correlated errors.

Results

Of the 76 PWH identified by ICD codes, 2 were excluded for identifying as cisgender and 15 for insufficient records, leaving 59 TGWWH included for analysis. Patients were on average 35 years old and Black (86%), with a median CD4 count of 464 cells/µL. There were 13 patients on GAHT at study entry and 31 receiving GAHT at any point during the study period. Fifty-five percent were virally suppressed at study entry and 86% at GAHT initiation. The proportion of TGWWH who were consistently virally suppressed over time was greater among those receiving GAHT compared with those who were not (P = .04).

Conclusions

Rates of viral suppression were significantly greater among TGWWH receiving GAHT when compared with those who were not. More research to evaluate the reasons behind this effect is needed.

Testosterone, identity and the body: Exploring cultural definitions of disorder

Medically-sanctioned testosterone administration has seen increasingly widespread application in the treatment of gender dysphoria (GD). Yet, by comparison, this approach is not medically accepted for those who are experiencing muscle dysmorphia (MD), a specifier of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), despite both conditions reflecting incongruences between self-perception, identity and phenotype, and both currently being classified as mental health disorders. Rather, by stark contrast, those with MD are largely treated with psychological intervention to accept themselves as they physically are and the illicit use of testosterone for muscle-related body perception purposes is generally subject to criminal justice enforcement actions. In this commentary, we examine attempts to distinguish between the use of testosterone for gender-affirming hormone therapy in the case of GD and for aesthetic (muscle enhancement) use in the case of MD, as well as explore the implications of this disparity. Moreover, we consider how such disparity in policy and practice may be understood, in part, as an example of a bias reflecting the selective pathologizing of anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use, socio-cultural evolutions in gender identity and expression and, more broadly, the manner in which culture defines disorder and its appropriate response.

Prevalence and Correlates of Nonprescription Hormone Use Among Trans Women in São Paulo, Brazil

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and correlates of nonprescription hormone use among Brazilian trans women. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional survey of trans women in São Paulo, Brazil, recruited by respondent-driven sampling in 2017-2019. Results: Of 790 trans women, 36.8% were taking nonprescribed hormones. Nonprescribed hormone use was higher with younger age, lower education, homelessness, and using estrogen plus progesterone. Lower use was associated with accessing health care and having trans-specific health needs met. Conclusion: Marginalized Brazilian trans women exhibit high use of nonprescription hormones, which may have health consequences and requires further examination and research.

Self-administration of gender-affirming hormones: a systematic review of effectiveness, cost, and values and preferences of end-users and health workers

Self-administration of quality gender-affirming hormones is one approach to expanding access to hormone therapy for individuals seeking secondary sex characteristics more aligned with their gender identity or expression and can be empowering when provided within safe, supportive health systems. To inform World Health Organization guidelines on self-care interventions, we systematically reviewed the evidence for self-administration compared to health worker-administration of gender-affirming hormones. We conducted a comprehensive search for peer-reviewed articles and conference abstracts that addressed effectiveness, values and preferences, and cost considerations. Data were extracted in duplicate using standardised forms. Of 3792 unique references, five values and preferences articles were included; no studies met the criteria for the effectiveness or cost reviews. All values and preferences studies focused on self-administration of unprescribed hormones, not prescribed hormones within a supportive health system. Four studies from the U.S. (N = 2), Brazil (N = 1), and the U.K. (N = 1) found that individuals seeking gender-affirming hormone therapy may self-manage due to challenges finding knowledgeable and non-stigmatising health workers, lack of access to appropriate services, exclusion, and discomfort with health workers, cost, and desire for a faster transition. One study from Thailand found health worker perspectives were shaped by restrictive legislation, few transgender-specific services or guidelines, inappropriate communication with health workers, and medical knowledge gaps. There is limited literature on self-administration of gender-affirming hormone therapy. Principles of gender equality and human rights in the delivery of quality gender-affirming hormones are critical to expand access to this important intervention and reduce discrimination based on gender identity.

Testing the boundaries: Self-medicated testosterone replacement and why it is practised

BACKGROUND

Testosterone is used therapeutically in medical settings. Non-prescribed testosterone use is typically illegal, described as 'enhancement' or 'doping', and considered a problem. However, research has found that some non-prescribed testosterone use may be therapeutic (i.e. self-medication). Little is known about testosterone self-medication. It has been noted among individuals who use image and performance enhancing drugs (IPEDs), but never systematically explored.

APPROACH

This paper describes the findings of a 4-year ethnographic study in online forums and social media groups frequented by people who use IPEDs. It focusses on 31 men who used enhancement doses of testosterone, but who described some of their testosterone use as 'testosterone replacement therapy' (TRT). In particular, it focuses on the 26 (84%) of these individuals who self-medicated TRT. Data was analysed thematically (using NVivo) in order to answer the question: 'how and why is testosterone self-medicated?'. Using Bacchi's (2016) problematization approach to policy analysis, this paper also asks, 'what happens to the 'problem' of non-prescribed testosterone use if such use is therapeutic?'.

FINDINGS

Self-medicated TRT was found to be very similar to TRT as practised in medical contexts. Self-medication was often practised because of an inability to access testosterone through health practitioners (who were either reluctant or unable to prescribe). However, some individuals were found to prefer self-medication because of price, ease of access, reliability of supply, and because health practitioners were perceived as lacking expertise regarding testosterone use.

CONCLUSION

By documenting the therapeutic use of testosterone outside of medical settings, this paper calls into question previous conceptualisations of all illicit testosterone use as 'abuse', and the utility of the repair/enhancement dichotomy as a foundation for discussions of drug use. It suggests that in some cases the problem may not be non-prescribed testosterone use per se, but policies that prevent access to medical treatment.

Effects of hormones and hormone therapy on breast tissue in transgender patients: a concise review

PURPOSE

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has become a mainstay medical treatment option for management of gender dysphoria in transgender patients of both biologic sexes. Very little is known about the long-term effects of steroid hormone modulation on breast tissue in this population. Most of the data available on the effects of HRT on breast and reproductive tissues come from studies of postmenopausal cisgender women. Therapeutic regimens are often provider-dependent, and there, are no uniform guidelines in place for cancer surveillance in transgender patients. In this review, we present what forms of hormone therapy and hormone modulation are available to transgender patients, what is known about their effects on male and female breast tissue, and what other endogenous and exogenous factors contribute to the macroscopic and cellular changes observed.

METHODS

A search for the existing literature focusing on therapeutic regimens and the effects of HRT on breast tissue provided the most current information available for this review. Recent evidence-based reports (since the year 2000) and reviews were given priority over anecdotal evidence and expert opinions when conflicting information was encountered. Older resources were considered when primary sources were needed. Given the paucity of available articles on this subject, all resources were given careful consideration.

RESULTS

Information about the risks associated with HRT in the current literature and in this setting is limited and often conflicting, due to a scarcity of long-term studies tracking breast pathology among transgender men and women.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that the long-term effects of off-label pharmaceutical use for modulation of hormone levels and sexual characteristics in transgender patients have not been well studied. The tendency of steroid hormones to promote the growth of certain cancers also raises questions about the safety of differing doses and drug combinations. Further clinical and laboratory study is needed to better establish safety and dosing guidelines in transgender patients.

Human rights and legal dimensions of self care interventions for sexual and reproductive health

Understanding the user, the health system, and the environment is key to ensuring that self care interventions for sexual and reproductive health are not only available but safe and empowering for all, say Laura Ferguson and colleagues