Transgender Health Resources

Vancouver Coastal Health Transgender Care Program Guidelines for Transgender Care --Comprehensive care guidelines developed for primary care providers in British Columbia by the Transgender Health Project with local and international clinicians expert in transgender care and transgender community members. These are consistent with the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care, but are more detailed. Includes a guideline for adolescent health.

Tom Waddell Health Center Protocols for the Hormonal Reassignment of Gender (22-page PDF file; About PDFs) --Clinical guidelines for hormone therapy developed using harm reduction principles by a transgender-focused clinic in San Francisco, California. The authors of the document welcome questions and comments about their protocols.

Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline--Recommendations for treatment, including comprehensive descriptions of the evidence that is available and assessments of the quality of the evidence. Includes a discussion of the recommendations for the treatment of adolescents.

Medical care for gender variant young people: Dealing with the practical problems (9-page PDF file; About PDFs) --Comprehensive discussion of the evaluation and treatment of gender variant children and young adults developed for the UK with experts from England and the United States. Includes a section on family responses to gender variance.

Medical Therapy and Health Maintenance for Transgender Men: A Guide For Health Care Providers by R. Nick Gorton MD, Jamie Buth MD, and Dean Spade Esq --Textbook focusing on the care of transgender men, including detailed descriptions of medications and procedures available at the time of publication (2005), background information, and clinical recommendations. Available in PDF, Open Office, and Microsoft Word formats.

World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care --The Standards of Care (SOC) are intended to provide "flexible directions for the treatment of persons with gender identity disorder" and many of the available clinical guidelines are based on the SOC. The SOC do not provide detailed clinical guidelines, but provide an overview of when particular therapies may be appropriate.

UCSF Center of Excellence for Transgender Care Guidelines and Best Practices --In addition to the clinical guidelines listed above, UCSF identifies specific resources on best practices for HIV/AIDS related prevention and care in transgender individuals.

Vancouver Coastal Health Patient Education Materials (Search "transgender")--Free printable PDF booklets and handouts on transgender advocacy, overall fitness for transgender individuals, getting trans-competent care, and transition services (i.e., changing speech, hormones, surgery, etc). Includes a booklet for trans and questioning youth.

UCSF Center of Excellence for Transgender Care: Community and Patient Education--Includes links to first-person accounts by transgender individuals, as well as a range of free PDF materials addressing important sexual health topics.

Fenway Health Glossary of Gender and Transgender Terms (16-page PDF file; About PDFs)--Includes definitions to a wide range of terms used by transgender individuals and those that care for them. The authors note the importance of using the language clients and patients use to describe themselves.

Transgender Law Center Healthcare Resources--Includes a guide to clinic organizing and advocacy and fact sheets addressing common legal and insurance issues facing transgender patients.

Transgender Medicine Yahoo Group--All health care professionals are invited to join this group, which focuses on hormone therapy, transgender primary care, research, access to care and billing issues.

WPATH Transmedicine Discussion Listserve (Members Only)--Many members of WPATH use this transgender medicine-specific listerve, and are willing to answer questions.

American Academy of Family Physicians LGBT Listserve (Members Only)--Though this listserve is not specific to transgender care, many members have experience with transgender primary care and are willing to answer questions.

International Journal of Transgenderism--This scholarly journal is a quarterly WPATH publication and addresses many aspects of transgender care. The first 7 volumes are available free of charge at the link above, though more recent articles require a subscription (included with WPATH membership).

UCSF Center of Excellence for Transgender Health: National and International Organizations--The organizations listed here address a wide range of concerns and although contacting them with specific clinical questions may not be appropriate, the list includes links to individuals and organizations providing trans-competency trainings and engaging in transgender advocacy.

This list of resources was compiled in 2011 as part of a community service project undertaken by Andrea Knittel, an MD/PhD student and Point Foundation Scholar at the University of Michigan Medical School and School of Public Health. The guidelines and other resources were identified through phone interviews with experienced providers of transgender primary care, and were reviewed for comprehensiveness and specificity. The following individuals provided invaluable assistance on this project: Liz Eaman, MD, Andy Hickner, MSI, and Andre Wilson, Health and Workplace Policy Consultant. Most recent revision: May 2012.

If you have additional resources or other suggestions, please contact transhealthresourcelist@gmail.com.