Comfort Providing Gender-Affirming Care and Preferences for Consultative Support Among Rural Pediatric Primary Care...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Primary Care
• Gender-Affirming Care
• Healthcare Consultations

Background:

• Pediatric primary care providers (PPCPs) face challenges in delivering gender-affirming care.
• Consultative support from specialists may improve PPCPs' confidence and competence.
• Understanding the impact of different support modalities is crucial for effective implementation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the influence of specialist-to-PPCP consultative support on PPCPs' comfort levels in providing gender-affirming care.
• To compare the perceived practicality of various consultative support modalities among PPCPs.

Main Methods:

• An electronic survey was administered to 51 PPCPs in West Virginia.
• T-tests and rank-sum tests were used to analyze data on comfort levels and modality practicality.
• Analysis considered factors such as years in practice and specialty training (pediatrics vs. family medicine).

Main Results:

• PPCPs with less than 10 years of experience and those trained in pediatrics reported higher comfort in providing gender-affirming care.
• Telemedicine was perceived as more practical than tele-education for consultative support.
• All evaluated consultative support modalities were expected to increase PPCP comfort with gender-affirming care.

Conclusions:

• Access to specialist consultative support significantly increases PPCP comfort in delivering gender-affirming care.
• The effectiveness of specific support modalities may vary based on PPCP experience and specialty.
• Targeted implementation of consultative support can enhance the provision of gender-affirming care in primary settings.