2SLGBTQ+ Cancer Surveys

Overview:
Approximately one-third of transgender patients have negative experiences with doctors including harassment, denial of care, and having to teach their doctors about transgender care.  Given these negative experience in healthcare, we were interested in the particular experiences of transgender patients with cancer, which have not been well studied. 

We (Alpert) have completed prior work to understand the experience of transgender patients with cancer. We held 2 focus groups with a total of 7 transgender and gender diverse (TGD) patients. Seven themes emerged regarding the experiences and recommendations of transgender and gender diverse people with cancer. 1) Enforcement of cisgender identities by medical systems makes care and support services inaccessible to transgender patients; 2) patients’ continue to experience transphobia in medical and support settings; 3) patients’ relationships to their gender identities are shaped by their experiences with cancer;  4) trans-inclusive policies and 5) improved provider knowledge and 6) respect could improve patients’ experiences; and 7) patients remain self-advocates in the setting of the transphobia and medical paternalism.  These themes were refined through member checking with two focus group participants and members of a community advisory board made up of 3 people who are transgender and have a history of cancer. During the focus groups, we also requested that participants provide a list of questions, which they thought  would be useful to ask other TGD patients with cancer or a history of cancer and we combined these questions with questions regarding the themes listed above. 

Utilizing the PRIDE cohort, we hope to verify that these seven themes are relevant to a large group of TGD people with cancer or a history of cancer and better elucidate experiences and recommendations. In this way, we also hope to formulate a list of patient-centered and informed guidelines for oncologists.

Study Type:
Quantitative

IRB Approved:
Yes

Target Audience:
Cancer screening eligible adults

Target Audience:
400

How to Apply:
Use this link

Study Contact:
Cameron Haas