Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Dermatology
Date Submitted: Nov 10, 2023
Date Accepted: Jan 25, 2024
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Evaluating Participation in Gender-Affirming Care: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Dermatology Program Websites in the United States
ABSTRACT
Background:
To enhance culturally competent care of transgender patients and diversify residency classes, dermatology residency programs should promote/provide sexual and gender minority (SGM) health training.
Objective:
In this study, we investigated the current state of gender-affirming care (GAC) among U.S. dermatology residencies.
Methods:
Between April-July 2023, we systematically examined the websites of all 141 dermatology residency programs, as well as their departments and associated institutions. Our search was conducted using department/residency program name plus relevant GAC-related terms. Authors independently categorized programs. Interrater reliability was calculated, with Cohen’s kappa ≥ 0.8 considered acceptable.
Results:
Among dermatology programs, 22/141 (15.6%) mentioned providing GAC. These programs were dispersed across the country, with the highest proportion (3/9) in New England. Involvement included providing or participating in multidisciplinary GAC clinics (22/22), directories of SGM health providers (19/22), lists of specific gender-affirming dermatologic procedures (12/22), websites listing GAC as a “service offered” (6/22), and dermatology department-led GAC programs (3/22). The majority of programs (119/141, 84.4%) did not mention participating in GAC. Of this group, 62 were affiliated with institutions with multidisciplinary GAC programs, while 57 were not.
Conclusions:
Few program websites referenced GAC participation, underscoring existing challenges and potential opportunities to improve SGM health education. From the types of participation identified in this study, program directors may gain insights into simple, yet effective, strategies to enhance SGM health initiatives and promote inclusivity.
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.