Experiences of healthcare for autistic TGD adults

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Exploring the experiences of Gender Identity Healthcare for Autistic Transgender/Gender Diverse Adults

• IRAS ID

  351167

• Contact name

  Mark Hudson

• Contact email

  mszmh6@exmail.nottingham.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Nottingham

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 5 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  
  The aim of this research is to explore the experiences of autistic, transgender/gender diverse adults that are accessing, have attempted to access, or have accessed, gender identity healthcare in the United Kingdom. We would like to understand whether there are barriers to accessing gender services

  Transgender/gender diverse people are more likely to experience depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. Gender services seek to support patients to feel more comfortable in their gender identity. The support offered can consist of therapy, hormone therapy or surgery, amongst others. Research has shown that by transgender/gender diverse people using these services, their overall mental health and wellbeing can be improved. However, often transgender/gender diverse people face barriers when using healthcare services, including discrimination. Similarly, autistic children and adults also face barriers when accessing healthcare and report dissatisfaction with services they have used. Services are said not to be built for autistic people in mind and many services do not adapt their approach for autistic people.

  Research has shown that there is an overlap of autism and gender diversity, with many gender services reporting higher rates of autistic people using these services than the rates in the general population. It has been shown that autistic and transgender/gender diverse people face many barriers when accessing gender identity healthcare, including clinicians having a lack of knowledge and adaptations not being made to support service users. We would like to add to this research and look to further understand experiences in gender identity services within the NHS for autistic transgender/gender diverse people. In this study, we will look to complete 90-minute individual interviews with autistic transgender/gender diverse people concerning their experiences with gender identity services in the NHS. By listening to and reviewing these experiences, we can pick out common themes of barriers for autistic transgender/gender diverse people in these services.

• REC name

  East Midlands - Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  25/EM/0076

• Date of REC Opinion

  14 Apr 2025

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion