Testing acceptability of an organ inventory designed to reduce misclassification of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people in cancer screening and research
Research highlights that transgender, nonbinary, and intersex (TNBI) people bear a disproportionate cancer burden as compared to cisgender people. However, TNBI people are less likely to receive appropriate cancer screening.
Many providers use gender-based screening protocols (ex. “Women need pap smears from 21 years old”) that misclassify people based on assumptions about body parts, particularly for TNBI people who may have organs that are inconsistent with assumptions about their gender identity.
To address this problem, we developed and tested an inclusive, evidence-based organ inventory to capture more relevant information on eligibility for cancer screening, care, and research than captured by gender identity. Together with a community advisory board and six focus group discussions, we co-created an organ inventory in simple English and Spanish and designed an online survey to evaluate it.
Adjacent is a draft of the organ inventory that could be applied for use in clinical or research settings.
After being asked to check each of the body parts they currently had, participants were also given the chance to provide additional information about their bodies and asked if they had had hormone replacement therapy or any surgeries that affected any of the body parts listed.
Participants rated the organ inventory as acceptable for use in both healthcare and research settings; 73% found it very easy to understand, and 65% found it very comfortable to fill out.