Knowledge and attitudes toward transgender health.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Endocrinology
• Adolescent Health

Background:

• Hormonal interventions for transgender adolescents are increasingly common.
• Research on medical student knowledge and attitudes towards these interventions is limited.
• Previous studies have not explored the conflict between awareness of mental health benefits and ethical concerns regarding these treatments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess medical student knowledge and attitudes regarding hormonal interventions for transgender adolescents after didactic instruction.
• To investigate whether students can acknowledge the mental health benefits of these treatments while still deeming them unethical.

Main Methods:

• An anonymous online survey was distributed to 407 medical students (years 1-4) who had attended one or two lectures on gender dysphoria (GD) treatment.
• The survey assessed knowledge of psychiatric comorbidities, diagnostic criteria, hormonal interventions, long-term benefits, and terminology.
• A response rate of 40% (162 students) was achieved.

Main Results:

• A majority of respondents correctly answered questions on comorbidities, diagnostics, hormonal therapy, benefits, and terminology.
• However, many students were unclear about puberty blockers and the diagnostic timeline for GD.
• A minority (14%) believed hormonal therapy is unethical, even while recognizing its mental health benefits.

Conclusions:

• Didactic lectures alone may be insufficient for teaching ethically complex topics like transgender adolescent hormonal interventions.
• Future instruction should focus on deliberate teaching of pharmacological and diagnostic issues, refresher training on terminology, and interactive methods.
• Knowledge about therapeutic benefits may not solely influence attitudes towards endocrine care for transgender youth.