IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v226y2019icp190-197.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Performing informed consent in transgender medicine

Author

Listed:
  • shuster, stef m.

Abstract

Using in-depth interviews with 23 physical and mental healthcare providers and observations at transgender-specific healthcare conferences between 2012 and 2015, I examine how medical providers negotiate informed consent processes in their clinical encounters with trans patients. While a growing body of scholarship has examined informed consent in scientific research from the patient's perspective, a gap remains in how informed consent is understood in clinical encounters, and from providers' perspectives. I use the case of trans medicine, an emergent field of medicine that has not yet implemented standardized procedures or policies that shape providers' decision-making. I demonstrate how many providers of trans medicine give voice to following informed consent, but fail to actually practice it in their work with trans patients. In performing informed consent, providers revert to a paternalistic model of care, which amplifies their medical authority while veiling power differentials in their clinical encounters and decision-making in trans medicine.

Suggested Citation

  • shuster, stef m., 2019. "Performing informed consent in transgender medicine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 226(C), pages 190-197.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:226:y:2019:i:c:p:190-197
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.02.053
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953619301261
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.02.053?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Entwistle, Vikki & Williams, Brian & Skea, Zoe & MacLennan, Graeme & Bhattacharya, Siladitya, 2006. "Which surgical decisions should patients participate in and how? Reflections on women's recollections of discussions about variants of hysterectomy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 499-509, January.
    2. Springer, Kristen W. & Mager Stellman, Jeanne & Jordan-Young, Rebecca M., 2012. "Beyond a catalogue of differences: A theoretical frame and good practice guidelines for researching sex/gender in human health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(11), pages 1817-1824.
    3. White Hughto, Jaclyn M. & Reisner, Sari L. & Pachankis, John E., 2015. "Transgender stigma and health: A critical review of stigma determinants, mechanisms, and interventions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 222-231.
    4. Poteat, Tonia & German, Danielle & Kerrigan, Deanna, 2013. "Managing uncertainty: A grounded theory of stigma in transgender health care encounters," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 22-29.
    5. Paine, Emily Allen, 2018. "Embodied disruption: “Sorting out” gender and nonconformity in the doctor's office," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 352-358.
    6. Miller, Tina & Boulton, Mary, 2007. "Changing constructions of informed consent: Qualitative research and complex social worlds," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(11), pages 2199-2211, December.
    7. Gikonyo, Caroline & Bejon, Philip & Marsh, Vicki & Molyneux, Sassy, 2008. "Taking social relationships seriously: Lessons learned from the informed consent practices of a vaccine trial on the Kenyan Coast," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(5), pages 708-720, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Murawsky, Stef, 2023. "The struggle with transnormativity: Non-binary identity work, embodiment desires, and experience with gender dysphoria," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 327(C).
    2. Kirkland, Anna, 2021. "Dropdown rights: Categorizing transgender discrimination in healthcare technologies," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bhattacharya, Shamayeta & Ghosh, Debarchana, 2020. "Studying physical and mental health status among hijra, kothi and transgender community in Kolkata, India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    2. Paine, Emily Allen, 2018. "Embodied disruption: “Sorting out” gender and nonconformity in the doctor's office," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 352-358.
    3. Jordan, Sid P., 2024. "Compelling care: A grounded theory of transmasculine self-defense and collective protection at the clinic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 345(C).
    4. Vaitses Fontanari, Anna Martha & Zanella, Gabriel Ibarra & Feijó, Marina & Churchill, Siobhan & Rodrigues Lobato, Maria Inês & Costa, Angelo Brandelli, 2019. "HIV-related care for transgender people: A systematic review of studies from around the world," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 280-294.
    5. Willging, Cathleen & Gunderson, Lara & Shattuck, Daniel & Sturm, Robert & Lawyer, Adrien & Crandall, Cameron, 2019. "Structural competency in emergency medicine services for transgender and gender non-conforming patients," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 67-75.
    6. Speechley, Molly & Stuart, Jaimee & Scott, Riley A. & Barber, Bonnie L. & Zimmer-Gembeck, Melanie J., 2024. "Provision of gender affirming care among medical and allied health practitioners: The influence of transnormative beliefs in working with gender diverse patients," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 348(C).
    7. Wall, Catherine S.J. & Patev, Alison J. & Benotsch, Eric G., 2023. "Trans broken arm syndrome: A mixed-methods exploration of gender-related medical misattribution and invasive questioning," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    8. Hughto, Jaclyn M.W. & Wolfe, Hill L. & Adrian, Haley & Operario, Don & Hughes, Landon D. & Fernández, Yohansa & Briody, Victoria & Matthews, Paige & Kelly, Patrick J.A. & Collins, Alexandra B., 2024. "Understanding the delivery of substance use treatment services to transgender and gender-diverse people: Findings from a mixed-methods study of healthcare professionals," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 343(C).
    9. Zia Ullah & Esra AlDhaen & Rana Tahir Naveed & Naveed Ahmad & Miklas Scholz & Tasawar Abdul Hamid & Heesup Han, 2021. "Towards Making an Invisible Diversity Visible: A Study of Socially Structured Barriers for Purple Collar Employees in the Workplace," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-16, August.
    10. Querubin S. Yap & Jon K. Webber, 2015. "Developing Corporate Culture In A Training Department: A Qualitative Case Study Of Internal And Outsourced Staff," Review of Business and Finance Studies, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 6(1), pages 43-56.
    11. Megan E. Gandy & Kacie M. Kidd & James Weiss & Judith Leitch & Xavier Hersom, 2021. "Trans*Forming Access and Care in Rural Areas: A Community-Engaged Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-13, December.
    12. L. Leigh Ann van der Merwe, 2017. "Transfeminism(s) from the Global South: Experiences from South Africa," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 60(1), pages 90-95, September.
    13. Linander, Ida & Alm, Erika & Hammarström, Anne & Harryson, Lisa, 2017. "Negotiating the (bio)medical gaze – Experiences of trans-specific healthcare in Sweden," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 9-16.
    14. Lewis, Tom & Doyle, David Matthew & Barreto, Manuela & Jackson, Debby, 2021. "Social relationship experiences of transgender people and their relational partners: A meta-synthesis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    15. Catherine Jones & Sophie Zadeh & Vasanti Jadva & Susan Golombok, 2022. "Solo Fathers and Mothers: An Exploration of Well-Being, Social Support and Social Approval," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-18, July.
    16. Peitzmeier, Sarah M. & Wirtz, Andrea L. & Humes, Elizabeth & Hughto, Jaclyn M.W. & Cooney, Erin & Reisner, Sari L., 2021. "The transgender-specific intimate partner violence scale for research and practice: Validation in a sample of transgender women," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    17. Amerikaner, Layne & Yan, Hope Xu & Sayer, Liana C. & Doan, Long & Fish, Jessica N. & Drotning, Kelsey J. & Rinderknecht, R. Gordon, 2023. "Blurred border or safe harbor? Emotional well-being among sexual and gender minority adults working from home during COVID-19," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    18. Connor, Jade & Madhavan, Sarina & Mokashi, Mugdha & Amanuel, Hanna & Johnson, Natasha R. & Pace, Lydia E. & Bartz, Deborah, 2020. "Health risks and outcomes that disproportionately affect women during the Covid-19 pandemic: A review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    19. Ryan Combs & Monica Wendel & T. Gonzales, 2018. "Considering transgender and gender nonconforming people in health communication campaigns," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-6, December.
    20. Marsh, Vicki & Kamuya, Dorcas & Rowa, Yvonne & Gikonyo, Caroline & Molyneux, Sassy, 2008. "Beginning community engagement at a busy biomedical research programme: Experiences from the KEMRI CGMRC-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kilifi, Kenya," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(5), pages 721-733, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:226:y:2019:i:c:p:190-197. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.