The Impact of Training in Transgender Care on Healthcare Providers Competence and Confidence: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Abstract

All studies to date demonstrate a lack of access to care for transgender people. A few educational efforts in providing care to transgender people have been successful. However, one challenge in administering training is that there is almost no research on the need of healthcare providers (HCP) to acquire knowledge, as well as on the effect of training on their level of competence and confidence in working with transgender people. Results from an online survey of a convenience sample of HCP across four different European countries (N = 810) showed that 52.7% reported experiences with some form of training on transgender people. The mean confidence level for all HCP (with or without training) in working with transgender people was 2.63, with a significant effect of training on confidence. 92.4% of HCP believed that training would raise their competence, and this belief was significantly higher among HCP with training experience, HCP working in Serbia and Sweden and/or among those HCP who belong to a sexual minority group. General practitioners had the lowest confidence levels of all professions involved. The study provided strong support for the use of training in improving healthcare conditions for transgender people, not only to raise awareness among HCP, but also to increase knowledge, competence and confidence levels of HCP in working with transgender people.

Integrating transgender care into mainstream medicine—an essay by Guy T’Sjoen and Joz Motmans

“…Results from an online survey among European healthcare professionals showed that only 52.7% reported some form of training on transgender health and that training led to increased confidence. 10 GPs had significantly lower confidence than nurses, psychosocial care providers, and other medical specialists. Ninety per cent of healthcare professionals believed that training would raise their competence, and this belief was significantly higher among professionals who had received some training.…”

“…Ninety per cent of healthcare professionals believed that training would raise their competence, and this belief was significantly higher among professionals who had received some training. 10 …”

“…Research shows that healthcare professionals working in transgender care services have mostly sought knowledge from less reliable sources on the internet 20 or from more specialised conferences, published papers, or guidelines. 10 This implies that postgraduate training is much needed for healthcare professionals licensed some years ago.…”

“The Light at the End of the Tunnel”: Experiences of LGBTQ+ Adults in Portuguese Healthcare

“…This culture needs to be built through the consistent, capillary, and specific education of HCP about LGBTQ+ lives, starting with the basic curricula. Without measures that specifically tackle the preparation of HCP on LGBTQ+ issues, healthcare systems are safe for some, and profoundly discriminatory for others [ 34 ]. Which leaves the principle of equal healthcare access to everyone failing to comply.…”

How Audiology Alienates Transgender Audiologists

“…A transgender audiologist’s colleagues can be another significant source of prejudice and discrimination. Individual healthcare providers and healthcare systems that audiologists find themselves in are often sources of transphobia (Heng et al 2018), usually due to ignorance about transgender issues (Burgwal et al 2021; Korpaisarn & Safer 2018). Healthcare providers often do not use transgender people’s correct name and pronouns after being asked to, do not accept transgender people’s identity, and display a lack of professionalism when working with transgender people (Heng et al 2018).…”