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Tordoff DM, Sequeira GM, Shook AG, Williams F, Hayden L, Kasenic A, Inwards-Breland D, Ahrens K. Factors Associated with Time to Receiving Gender-Affirming Hormones and Puberty Blockers at a Pediatric Clinic Serving Transgender and Nonbinary Youth. Transgend Health 2023; 8:420-428. [PMID: 37810940 PMCID: PMC10551760 DOI: 10.1089/trgh.2021.0116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose To describe barriers to care for a cohort of transgender and nonbinary (TNB) youth and examine factors associated with delays in receiving puberty blockers (PBs) or gender-affirming hormones (GAHs). Methods We used longitudinal data from a prospective cohort of TNB youth seeking care at a multidisciplinary pediatric gender clinic between August 2017 and June 2018. We calculated the time between (i) initial clinic contact, (ii) phone intake, (iii) first medical appointment, and (iv) initiating PBs/GAHs. We estimated Kaplan-Meier curves for each time-to-care interval and used Cox regression models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for factors hypothesized to be barriers and facilitators of care. Results Our cohort included 104 youth aged 13-20 years. The median time from contacting the clinic to initiating PBs/GAHs was 307 days (range, 54-807). Lower income level, Medicaid insurance, and lack of family support were associated with longer times from contacting the clinic to completing the first medical appointment. In addition, older youth experienced longer times to first medical appointment relative to youth aged 13-14 years. Youth younger than 18 years of age who did not complete a mental health assessment before their first medical appointment experienced delays from first medical appointment to initiating PBs/GAHs (HR=0.44, 95% confidence interval, 0.22-0.88). Conclusion Certain subsets of youth disproportionately experienced delays in receiving gender-affirming medications, and these factors varied by stage of care engagement. Given the association between gender-affirming care and improved mental health, identifying sociostructural and clinic-level barriers to care is critically important to facilitating more equitable access.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana M. Tordoff
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Gina M. Sequeira
- Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Alic G. Shook
- Seattle University, College of Nursing, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Seattle Children's Center for Pediatric Nursing Research, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | | | - Lara Hayden
- Division of Adolescent Medicine, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Ash Kasenic
- Division of Adolescent Medicine, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - David Inwards-Breland
- Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego, California, USA
- Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, UC San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Kym Ahrens
- Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
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Rosa WE, Metheny N, Shook AG, Adedimeji AA. Safeguarding LGBTQ+ lives in an epoch of abandonment. Lancet Glob Health 2023; 11:e1329-e1330. [PMID: 37591574 PMCID: PMC10476881 DOI: 10.1016/s2214-109x(23)00353-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- William E Rosa
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Nicholas Metheny
- School of Nursing and Health Studies, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Alic G Shook
- College of Nursing, Seattle University, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Adebola A Adedimeji
- Division of Health Behavior Research and Implementation Science, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiative, Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
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Shook AG, Tordoff DM, Clark A, Hardwick R, St Pierre Nelson W, Kantrowitz-Gordon I. Trans Youth Talk Back: A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis of Transgender Minors' Accounts of Healthcare Access. Qual Health Res 2022; 32:1672-1689. [PMID: 35818038 DOI: 10.1177/10497323221114801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Contemporary transgender youth in the U.S. today face increasing stigmatization as extraordinary legislative attacks intensify discrimination and exclusion of these young people in healthcare, recreation, and school life. These attacks reflect broader political, religious, and cultural ideologies embedded in systems of power that regulate the provision of healthcare for American transgender youth. We apply Foucauldian discourse analysis and a theory-driven conceptual framework for structural analysis of transgender health inequities-Intersectionality Research for Transgender Health Justice-to identify discourses youth encounter within healthcare practice. We analyzed data from interviews conducted in Western Washington State with youth ages 13-17 (n =11) and asked how transgender subjectivity was constructed in their accounts and in what ways youth made use of the discursive resources available to them when navigating systems of care. Three sets of discourses-discourses of normativity, discourses of temporality, and discourse of access-characterized participants' narratives. We discuss how participants negotiated discursively situated systems of power in order to ensure their safety and access to care.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - April Clark
- 12301Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
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Shook AG, Tordoff DM, Clark A, Hardwick R, St. Pierre Nelson W, Kantrowitz-Gordon I. Age, Autonomy, and Authority of Knowledge: Discursive Constructions of Youth Decision-Making Capacity and Parental Support in Transgender Minors’ Accounts of Healthcare Access. Journal of Adolescent Research 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/07435584221115351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
While access to care is known to improve health outcomes for transgender youth, these youth often face challenges in accessing care related to decision-making capacity and the legal limitations regarding age of consent. In this study, we utilize discourse analytic methods to identify how notions of age, autonomy, and authority of knowledge influence transgender youths’ ability to make agentic decisions about their bodies and health, and better understand the power dynamics present in youths’ relations with parents and providers. We conducted 11 one-on-one interviews with transgender youth between the ages of 13 to 17 and one focus group with high school-age trans youth ( n = 8) in the Seattle-Tacoma area of Washington state. We identified two sets of discourses: (1) discourses of autonomy, which included self-determination, confidentiality, and authority of knowledge and (2) discourses of support, which included role ambiguity, trust/mistrust, and good and bad parents. Findings from this study highlight power dynamics present in trans youths’ relations with parents and providers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alic G. Shook
- Seattle University, College of Nursing, Seattle, WA, USA
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Shook AG, Buskin SE, Golden M, Dombrowski JC, Herbeck J, Lechtenberg RJ, Kerani R. Community and Provider Perspectives on Molecular HIV Surveillance and Cluster Detection and Response for HIV Prevention: Qualitative Findings From King County, Washington. J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care 2022; 33:270-282. [PMID: 35500058 PMCID: PMC9062191 DOI: 10.1097/jnc.0000000000000308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Responding quickly to HIV outbreaks is one of four pillars of the U.S. Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative. Inclusion of cluster detection and response in the fourth pillar of EHE has led to public discussion concerning bioethical implications of cluster detection and response and molecular HIV surveillance (MHS) among public health authorities, researchers, and community members. This study reports on findings from a qualitative analysis of interviews with community members and providers regarding their knowledge and perspectives of MHS. We identified five key themes: (a) context matters, (b) making sense of MHS, (c) messaging, equity, and resource prioritization, (d) operationalizing confidentiality, and (e) stigma, vulnerability, and power. Inclusion of community perspectives in generating innovative approaches that address bioethical concerns related to the use of MHS data is integral to ensure that widely accessible information about the use of these data is available to a diversity of community members and providers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alic G. Shook
- College of Nursing, Seattle University Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Susan E. Buskin
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Epidemiologist, Public Health – Seattle & King County, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Matthew Golden
- Public Health – Seattle King County HIV/STD Program
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Julia C. Dombrowski
- Public Health-Seattle & King County HIV/STD Program
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Joshua Herbeck
- Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | | | - Roxanne Kerani
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
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