Self-assessment of healthcare workers regarding the management of trans people in a university hospital

Introduction. - Trans people face more barriers when seeking healthcare than the cisgender population probably due to a lack of knowledge, education and comfort of healthcare workers. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and comfort felt by healthcare professionals in managing trans people in a French university hospital. Methods. - A self-questionnaire was emailed to healthcare professionals working in departments usually involved in the care of trans people in a French university hospital not specialized in medical and surgical gender transition. The questionnaire included demographic questions and Likert scales regarding their knowledge and comfort in taking care of trans people. Responses on the 7-point Likert scales were categorized into low, medium and high groups, and responses on the 5-point Likert scales were categorized into in favour, neutral and against groups. Results. - One hundred and two (29%) healthcare professionals answered the questionnaire. Half worked in surgical departments (urology, plastic surgery, gynecology), 24% worked in medical departments (endocrinology, reproductive medicine, cytogenetics) and 26% worked in psychiatry. The majority (60.3%) rated their level of knowledge as low and 39.7% as medium. Sixteen percent rated their level of comfort in managing trans people as low, 72.5% as medium and 11.5% as high. A majority (77.5%) were in favor of having the costs of gender transition care covered by the national health insurance system, 16.4% were neutral and 6% were against this idea. Feelings about surgical and hormonal gender transition were overwhelmingly (96.4%) in favour or neutral and 91% were willing to get more training and education to manage trans people. Conclusion. - The lack of comfort felt by healthcare professionals in university hospital in managing trans people seems to be related to a tack of knowledge and training in that field and not to a disagreement with the need of transgender healthcare. (C) 2021 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Automated summary

Healthcare professionals in a French university hospital lack comfort in managing trans people, mainly due to a lack of knowledge and training in this area, rather than disagreement with the need for transgender healthcare.