Adolescent Providers' Experiences of Harassment Related to Delivering Gender-Affirming Care

A thematic analysis of disinformation in gender-affirming healthcare bans in the United States

CONTEXT

Bans on gender-affirming care (GAC) for transgender and gender-expansive (TGE) people are grounded in scientific disinformation and have been challenged in American courts.

METHODS

Five legal filings by state officials in defense of GAC restriction from initial litigation were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Themes and subthemes of disinformation were identified after review and analysis of these filings.

FINDINGS

Five themes of disinformation emerged: False and misleading claims about (1) gender dysphoria and gender identity, (2) the evidence regarding GAC, (3) standard practice of GAC, (4) the safety of GAC, and finally, (5) rejection of medical authority. These themes were well represented across the analyzed documents.

CONCLUSIONS

The five disinformation themes and subthemes have been noted in lower courts, but have seen some purchase in appellate courts, suggesting that medical disinformation in law may have far-reaching consequences for medical policy.

Desire for Gender-Affirming Medical Care Before Age 18 in Transgender and Nonbinary Young Adults

Purpose: We aimed to understand transgender and nonbinary (TNB) young adults' desire to receive gender-affirming medical care (GAMC) before age 18 and identify barriers and facilitators to receiving this care in adolescence. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was administered to TNB young adults presenting for care between ages 18 and 20 in 2023. Descriptive statistics characterized the sample, χ2 tests with post hoc pairwise comparisons identified differences in desire for gender-affirming medications, outness, and parental consent by gender identity and sex assigned at birth, and t-tests evaluated differences in barriers and facilitators to receiving care by outness to parents. Results: A total of 230 TNB respondents had complete data. Nearly all (94.3%) indicated they desired GAMC before age 18. Half (55.7%) of the respondents reported being out about their gender identity to a parent before age 18. Outness, discussing desire for GAMC, and asking for consent to receive GAMC from a parent were significantly more common among participants who identified as men compared to those who identified as women and among those assigned female at birth compared to those assigned male at birth. No such differences emerged when comparing nonbinary individuals to those who identified as men or women. Lack of parental willingness to consent for GAMC was cited as the primary contributor of not having received care in adolescence. Conclusions: Many TNB young adults desire GAMC in adolescence; however, lack of parental support is a key barrier to receiving this care, suggesting a need for more readily available resources for parents to support TNB adolescents.