Scientific Workshop on Expanding the Evidence Base in Gender Affirming Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse Populations

To advance our understanding of transgender health, the Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office (SGMRO), along with NIH co-sponsors, is hosting a workshop to bring together researchers, advocates, and members of the community with expertise in transgender health, measurement, behavioral and social sciences, and other disciplines. Current evidence-based clinical practices are available for health professionals to assist transgender and gender-diverse populations but additional research is needed to advance this area of care. Therefore, the purpose of this workshop is to share what is known about clinical practices with the population, including the most recent scientific findings, and to identify crucial knowledge gaps and research opportunities for studies on transgender health and gender-affirming care across the life course.

This is a multi-phase workshop that spans several months, beginning with the Request for Information that was released on December 5, 2022, and culminating in a final report-out session on March 27, 2023, that will be held virtually. Members of the public are invited to listen in but are required to register.

Workshop Timeline

A brief workshop timeline is provided below:

Phase I: Request for Information (RFI) on the Agenda Framework A request for information (RFI) from the public on the agenda framework was issued and feedback was consolidated for additional consideration in January 2023.	COMPLETED October 2022 to November 2022
Phase II: Listening Sessions (Invitation Only) Experts and relevant stakeholders discussed the current landscape of gender-affirming care. These sessions were invitation only.	COMPLETED December 2022
Phase III: Virtual Working Groups (Invitation Only) Three working groups will meet online to discuss the state of the science. Working Group #1 will discuss research opportunities in pediatric and adolescent care. Working Group #2 will discuss research opportunities in adult and older adult care. Working Group #3 will discuss research opportunities in systemic, institutional, and ethical policies.	January 2023 - March 2023
Phase IV: Virtual Final Report-Out Session (Members of public are invited to listen in)	March 2023

Workshop Co-Sponsors

This workshop was sponsored and coordinated by the Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office and co-sponsored by the following NIH Institutes, Offices, and Programs:

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
Office of AIDS Research (OAR)
Office of Disease Prevention (ODP)