Hello Everyone,
My name is Brooke Friley, and I am seeking participants for my doctoral dissertation research. My project is exploring how transgender individuals decide to disclose their transgender identity to medical providers. For this project I am conducting one-hour telephone interviews during which we will discuss how this information is shared. Results from these interviews will be analyzed by transgender individuals in focus groups with the hope of working collaboratively to develop resources that might help transgender individuals navigate these difficult conversations more comfortably.
All participant information will be kept confidential, and this study has been approved by the Purdue University Institutional Review Board (IRB). Participants who complete the interview will be entered into a drawing to win one of three $25 Amazon gift cards.
If you are interested in participating, please use the URL below to access a short screening questionnaire that will verify your eligibility and also ask for contact information and availability for scheduling an interview. To participate, you must be at least 18 years of age, able to interview in English, and identify as transgender.
http://ow.ly/SO0x1
If you would like further information about the study, please feel free to ask questions here or to email me at lfriley@purdue.edu.
Thank you for considering participating in this research!
Brooke
I find this quite amusing.
They want to ask about "how transgender individuals decide to disclose their transgender identity to medical providers". I have strong opinions on this and routinely lie to doctors about anything related to being trans, disclosing only to those I deem have a need to know. That's a very small number.
There's about zero chance I'm going to give a university my phone number or allow them to record a conversation with me. The study is seriously biased before it starts. They could have collected some data on this aspect.
A typical example of not disclosing would be doctors asking if I'm taking any drugs. I'm not going to tell them about estrogen, progesterone, spironolactone or some of the other things I've taken.
I feel I would be another outlier. I was so desperate to do something I had zero difficulty telling anyone who could help me...doc, psych, counsellor, endo...mooooooore than happy to share!
It's mostly a non-issue for me, and I'm pretty matter-of-fact about it. They need to know, so I tell them. But I had a mammogram recently, and the woman who called me back for the test got very confused when I stood up, and she kept questioning why I was there -- thicker than a brick, she was. I didn't really feel like outing myself in the middle of a crowded waiting room, so that was a bit annoying. But they sorted it out, and after that everyone was very respectful.
With a small sample size, we already have some pretty different answers, so maybe there's a need for this. But, AnonyMs, I think you're right that there's a built-in response bias against people who are seriously stealth.
Well, I signed up. If I can do something to help transgender individuals get better access to health care, then I am happy to do it. I am well aware that not all transgender persons have good insurance, or have ready access to primary care physicians or specialists like endocrinologists, or have their hormones prescription costs covered, let alone GRS.
I have long since gotten over my reticence to disclose my transgender status to medical professionals. I have a legitimate and treatable condition that I want help for. I am - for the most part- not ashamed to be transgender, and believe me, that was not always the case. Doctors can't safely treat me if they don't know my medical history.
Anyway, I'm doing it. Transgender medicine is a footnote in medical school. Many practicing physicians are uncomfortable treating transgender patients. If this study can help, then it is worth the hour I have to spend on the phone with the interviewer.
With kindness,
Terri
I have no issues telling the medical community, universities are anyone else about my status and history. Personally i see zero downside to doing that. Everyone's situation is different.