Improving the Care of Transgender/Gender-Nonconforming Patients in the Emergency Department Through Quality Improvement: An Educational Intervention for Emergency Clinicians.

Background: There is a significant gap in the provision of care for transgender or gender-nonconforming patients. This population experiences a multitude of disparate health outcomes. Studies have demonstrated a clear knowledge gap among ED clinicians regarding the care for transgender or gender-nonconforming patients.

Context: A significant number of ED clinicians reported caring for transgender or gender-nonconforming patients during their careers. Currently, many ED clinicians report receiving minimal or no training in the care of transgender or gender-nonconforming patients. This lack of competency contributes to ED care avoidance in this population.

Methods: This quality improvement project aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of improving clinicians' knowledge and skills, openness and support, and oppression awareness in transgender or gender-nonconforming patients through a targeted educational intervention. This study included 4 community hospital-based emergency departments. Performance in the domains of knowledge and skill, openness and support, and oppression awareness was measured using the Ally Identity Measure questionnaire and a paired t test analysis of scored results.

Intervention: The intervention for this quality improvement project was a synchronous, in-person education session delivered once in each of the respective hospital-based emergency departments that addressed key components of understanding transgender or gender-nonconforming patient care. These topics include relevant terminology, assessment recommendations, common gender-affirming therapies, and local resources for follow-up. It also incorporated audio/video testimonies of transgender or gender-nonconforming patients and a case study.

Results: Improvement was demonstrated in all 3 domains when comparing the pre- and postintervention Ally Identity Measure scores. Knowledge and skills demonstrated the most significant increase from pre- (mean, 25.3) to postintervention (mean, 34.6). Openness and support and oppression awareness demonstrated almost equal improvement when comparing pre- (openness and support mean, 27.0; oppression awareness mean, 16.9) and postintervention performance (openness and support mean, 29.2; oppression awareness mean, 18.4).

Conclusion: Transgender or gender-nonconforming patients represent a unique clinical cohort that requires specialized knowledge to provide competent patient care. ED clinicians demonstrated knowledge deficits regarding transgender or gender-nonconforming patient care. These findings support the need for formalized training in the care of transgender or gender-nonconforming patients and its effectiveness in addressing the existing ED clinician education gap.