IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v303y2022ics0277953622003203.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Construction and validation of a spatial database of providers of transgender hormone therapy in the US

Author

Listed:
  • Everhart, Avery R.
  • Ferguson, Laura
  • Wilson, John P.

Abstract

What little data on transgender healthcare is available often focuses on transgender people's negative experiences in accessing healthcare. However, no research has been conducted that illustrates where gender-affirming hormone therapy, one part of transgender-specific medical care, is available. Without these data, large scale research to discern patterns of availability of and access to gender-affirming medical care is nearly impossible. Community-based organizations, and even trans individuals themselves have constructed repositories and databases of healthcare providers to inform other care seekers where they can access transition-related care providers, but their data are often incomplete, and usually formatted to be user-facing rather than streamlined for research purposes. To fill this gap, this article outlines the methodology for the construction of a spatial database of providers of gender-affirming hormone therapy for transgender people in the US, which is available on GitHub, created from existing community-based resources and the accompanying verification process. The completeness of the database is tested via comparison to data from the US Transgender Survey in which respondents reported travel distance to access transgender-specific care providers. The database accounted for all but 7.5% of respondents who may have accessed unknown facilities based on self-reported travel distance. Results indicate that existing methodologies for database construction regarding healthcare providers are difficult to apply when working with transgender-specific medical care and that tests for replicability and validation often take for granted the wide availability of relevant data and information. While the database unto itself can only demonstrate where care is available, it will enable future research into why these geographic patterns in care availability exist. Finally, the methodology can be replicated to produce databases for other kinds of specialized or politicized medical care such as abortion, gender-affirming surgery, or HIV treatment.

Suggested Citation

  • Everhart, Avery R. & Ferguson, Laura & Wilson, John P., 2022. "Construction and validation of a spatial database of providers of transgender hormone therapy in the US," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 303(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:303:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622003203
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115014
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953622003203
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115014?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. Jianchuan Xianyu & Soora Rasouli & Harry Timmermans, 2017. "Analysis of variability in multi-day GPS imputed activity-travel diaries using multi-dimensional sequence alignment and panel effects regression models," Transportation, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 533-553, May.
    2. Danya Lagos, 2018. "Looking at Population Health Beyond “Male” and “Female”: Implications of Transgender Identity and Gender Nonconformity for Population Health," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(6), pages 2097-2117, December.
    3. 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.
    4. Kronk, Clair & Everhart, Avery R. & Ashley, Florence & Thompson, Hale & Schall, Theodore E. & Goetz, Teddy G. & Hiatt, Laurel & Derrick, Zackary & Queen, Roz & Ram, A, 2021. "Transgender Data Collection in the Electronic Health Record (EHR): Current Concepts and Issues," SocArXiv qnc2g, Center for Open Science.
    5. Ethan C Cicero & Sari L Reisner & Elizabeth I Merwin & Janice C Humphreys & Susan G Silva, 2020. "The health status of transgender and gender nonbinary adults in the United States," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(2), pages 1-20, February.
    6. Khalili, J. & Leung, L.B. & Diamant, A.L., 2015. "Finding the perfect doctor: Identifying lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender-competent physicians," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 105(6), pages 1114-1119.
    7. Kyle K.H. Tan & Sonja J. Ellis & Johanna M. Schmidt & Jack L. Byrne & Jaimie F. Veale, 2020. "Mental Health Inequities among Transgender People in Aotearoa New Zealand: Findings from the Counting Ourselves Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-14, April.
    8. Clark, Kirsty A. & White Hughto, Jaclyn M. & Pachankis, John E., 2017. "“What's the right thing to do?” Correctional healthcare providers' knowledge, attitudes and experiences caring for transgender inmates," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 80-89.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Campbell, Travis & Rodgers, Yana van der Meulen, 2023. "Conversion therapy, suicidality, and running away: An analysis of transgender youth in the U.S," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    2. Carpenter, Christopher S. & Gonzales, Gilbert & McKay, Tara & Sansone, Dario, 2020. "Effects of the Affordable Care Act Dependent Coverage Mandate on Health Insurance Coverage for Individuals in Same-Sex Couples," IZA Discussion Papers 13119, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Jeffery Adams & Eric Julian Manalastas & Rommel Coquilla & Jed Montayre & Stephen Neville, 2022. "Exploring Understandings of Sexuality Among “Gay†Migrant Filipinos Living in New Zealand," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, May.
    4. 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.
    5. Martha J. Decker & Nancy F. Berglas & Claire D. Brindis, 2015. "A Call to Action: Developing and Strengthening New Strategies to Promote Adolescent Sexual Health," Societies, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-27, October.
    6. 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).
    7. 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.
    8. Luca Fumarco & Benjamin Harrell & Patrick Button & David Schwegman & E Dils, 2020. "Gender Identity, Race, and Ethnicity-based Discrimination in Access to Mental Health Care: Evidence from an Audit Correspondence Field Experiment," NBER Working Papers 28164, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Ethan C Cicero & Sari L Reisner & Elizabeth I Merwin & Janice C Humphreys & Susan G Silva, 2020. "The health status of transgender and gender nonbinary adults in the United States," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(2), pages 1-20, February.
    10. Naima Mohammadi, 2018. "Life experiences of sexual minorities in Iran: limitations, adaptations and challenges," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 719-737, March.
    11. Randi Beth Singer & Amy K Johnson & Natasha Crooks & Douglas Bruce & Linda Wesp & Alexa Karczmar & Lucy Mkandawire-Valhmu & Susan Sherman, 2021. "“Feeling Safe, Feeling Seen, Feeling Free”: Combating stigma and creating culturally safe care for sex workers in Chicago," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(6), pages 1-15, June.
    12. Timmermans, Stefan & Tietbohl, Caroline, 2018. "Fifty years of sociological leadership at Social Science and Medicine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 209-215.
    13. Phillips II, Gregory & McCuskey, David J. & Felt, Dylan & Raman, Anand B. & Hayford, Christina S. & Pickett, Jim & Shenkman, Julia & Lindeman, Peter T. & Mustanski, Brian, 2020. "Geospatial perspectives on health: The PrEP4Love campaign and the role of local context in health promotion messaging," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    14. 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.
    15. Kim, Seheon & Rasouli, Soora & Timmermans, Harry & Yang, Dujuan, 2018. "Estimating panel effects in probabilistic representations of dynamic decision trees using bayesian generalized linear mixture models," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 168-184.
    16. Long, Amanda & Jennings, Jacky & Bademosi, Kehinde & Chandran, Aruna & Sawyer, Simone & Schumacher, Christina & Greenbaum, Adena & Fields, Errol L., 2022. "Storytelling to improve healthcare worker understanding, beliefs, and practices related to LGBTQ + patients: A program evaluation," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    17. Gabriel J. Tanenbaum & LaTasha R. Holden, 2023. "A Review of Patient Experiences and Provider Education to Improve Transgender Health Inequities in the USA," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(20), pages 1-16, October.
    18. Woodgate, Roberta L. & Zurba, Melanie & Tennent, Pauline & Cochrane, Carla & Payne, Mike & Mignone, Javier, 2017. "“People try and label me as someone I'm not”: The social ecology of Indigenous people living with HIV, stigma, and discrimination in Manitoba, Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 17-24.
    19. Huang, Yuqiao & Gao, Linjie & Ni, Anning & Liu, Xiaoning, 2021. "Analysis of travel mode choice and trip chain pattern relationships based on multi-day GPS data: A case study in Shanghai, China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    20. 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).

    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:303:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622003203. 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.