Advancing methods for US transgender health research

Sari L. Reisner, Madeline B. Deutsch, Shalender Bhasin, Walter Bockting, George R. Brown, Jamie Feldman, Rob Garofalo, Baudewijntje Kreukels, Asa Radix, Joshua D. Safer, Vin Tangpricha, Guy T'Sjoen (+1 others)
2016 Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes & Obesity  
Purpose of Review-To describe methodological challenges, gaps, and opportunities in U.S. transgender health research. Recent Findings-Lack of large prospective observational studies and intervention trials, limited data on risks and benefits of gender affirmation (e.g., hormones and surgical interventions), and inconsistent use of definitions across studies hinder evidence-based care for transgender people. Systematic high-quality observational and intervention-testing studies may be carried
more » ... using several approaches, including general population-based, health systems-based, clinic-based, venue-based, and hybrid designs. Each of these approaches has its strength and limitations; however, harmonization of research efforts is needed. Ongoing development of evidence-based clinical recommendations will benefit from a series of observational and intervention studies aimed at identification, recruitment, and follow-up of transgender people of different ages, from different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds and with diverse gender identities. Summary-Transgender health research faces challenges that include standardization of lexicon, agreed-upon population definitions, study design, sampling, measurement, outcome ascertainment, and sample size. Application of existing and new methods is needed to fill existing gaps, increase the scientific rigor and reach of transgender health research, and inform evidencebased prevention and care for this underserved population. Keywords transgender; research methods; health disparity Reisner et al.
doi:10.1097/med.0000000000000229 pmid:26845331 pmcid:PMC4916925 fatcat:iwasageobnfpvlkzfgrgoyi4iy