Attitude and Medical Knowledge Among Medical Trainees and Physicians on the Transgender Population

A Multi-Institutional Survey

Bibliographic Data

ID24232004
AuthorsElizabeth A Schumacher (University of Toledo College of Medicine), Sara J Zandvakili (University of Toledo College of Medicine), Hannah Nam (University of Toledo College of Medicine), Mani K Askari (University of Toledo College of Medicine), Hoda Shabpiray (University of Toledo College of Medicine), Lori M DeShetler (University of Toledo College of Medicine), Basil Akpunonu (University of Toledo College of Medicine), Anand Mutgi (University of California Davis Medical Center), Kristen D Kelley (University of California Davis Medical Center), Julia Goupil (University of California Davis Medical Center), Esha Lal (University of California Davis Medical Center), Mitra Rezvani (New York Medical College)
Year2026
Pages1-20
Publication date2026-10-15
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Sexual Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1931-7611 • E-ISSN: 1931-762X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/19317611.2026.2742394
OpenAlexW7221881464
LanguageEN
References cited21

Objectives Despite a growing population of people who identify as transgender in the United States, existing healthcare and medical education systems have not all adapted to meet the needs of transgender people. Transgender individuals face persistent disparities in accessing healthcare that are often rooted in provider bias, lack of education, and systematic discrimination.Methods The present study surveyed 573 medical students, residents, fellows, faculty physicians, and attending physicians from three United States academic medical centers regarding their attitudes and medical knowledge on the transgender population. A Likert-scale survey was used and results were analyzed for significant associations of attitude and medical knowledge with age, sex-assigned at birth, gender identity, sexual orientation, years of practice, ethnicity, religion, and institution.Results The results of this study demonstrated significant associations between attitudes and medical knowledge of medical trainees and professionals amongst different sex, gender, ethnicity, religion, and institution. For example, female respondents showed significantly more affirming attitudes, higher comfort level, and greater interest in transgender healthcare education, suggesting a sex-based difference in readiness to engage with transgender healthcare issues.Conclusions These findings demonstrate a need to improve medical education curricula and continuing education for medical trainees and professionals regarding the transgender population. Improvements in medical education curricula may include expanding formal curriculum hours dedicated to transgender healthcare, incorporating transgender patient cases into clinical examinations, teaching inclusive language, and more.

Diversity and Career in Medicine · Gender, Sexuality, and Education · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy

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