Job and Health Outcomes Among Transgender and Gender-Diverse Nurses

Area of Science:

• Nursing Workforce Studies
• Health Disparities Research
• Gender Identity and Health

Background:

• Transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals face significant health disparities and workplace discrimination.
• The specific job and health outcomes for TGD nurses are not well understood.
• Nursing is a critical profession where TGD individuals may experience unique workplace challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of gender identity on the job and health outcomes of nurses.
• To compare the experiences of TGD nurses with those of cisgender nurses.
• To identify potential areas for workplace interventions.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional observational study of 52,491 nurses in New York and Illinois surveyed in 2021.
• Included 52,455 cisgender nurses and 36 TGD nurses.
• Used propensity score weighting and doubly robust methods to analyze job outcomes (burnout, job dissatisfaction) and health outcomes (depression, anxiety, overall health).

Main Results:

• TGD nurses reported significantly higher odds of burnout (aOR=2.60) and job dissatisfaction (aOR=2.21) compared to cisgender nurses.
• TGD nurses had poorer overall health ratings (aOR=3.98) and increased symptoms of depression (b=0.82) and anxiety (b=0.76).
• Statistical significance was observed for all reported disparities (p < .05).

Conclusions:

• TGD nurses face worse job and health outcomes than their cisgender counterparts.
• These findings highlight critical disparities within the nursing profession.
• Further research is needed to identify specific workplace factors contributing to these negative outcomes for TGD nurses.