UNIVERSITY OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
UPEI nursing professor leads study on accessibility of gender-affirming health care on PEI/Epekwitk

Dr. Margie Burns, an assistant professor in the UPEI Faculty of Nursing, is leading a research study about the experiences of Two-Spirit, transgender, gender-diverse, and non-binary (2STGD+) people seeking and accessing gender-affirming health care on PEI/Epekwitk.

Burns has received a Partnership Engage Grant of $24,959 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for the study.

"Transgender, gender-diverse, and Two-Spirit people are an equity-seeking group who have unique healthcare needs," she said. "Those needs relate to gender-affirming care that supports individuals in expressing their authentic gender identity socially and/or medically through hormone therapy, non-surgical medical procedures, and/ or surgery. Despite efforts in Canada to legislate equal rights for those who are 2SLGBTQIA+, 2STGD+ people continue to experience inequities in adequate care, and many face significant delays in accessing life-saving, gender-affirming care."

A 2018 research study by Dana Manzer, University of New Brunswick, has shown that there is a significant gap in the education of health-care providers about trans-specific needs, she said, which undermines the ability of practitioners to provide appropriate and culturally sensitive care for this population.

Burns's study aims to increase the knowledge health-care providers have of the unique trans-specific needs of 2STGD+ people, the barriers they face, and the experiences they have had when seeking and accessing gender-affirming health care on PEI, and to explore those experiences in greater depth.

"With the rise in transphobic discrimination and evidence supporting the need for culturally competent, equitable, and accessible health care for 2STGD+ people, it is essential that their experiences in seeking and receiving gender-affirming care are acknowledged and understood, and that health-care providers provide culturally competent care to improve wellness for this population and their families."

This study will explore the experiences of 2STGD+ people living on PEI/Epekwitk relating to gender-affirming care. The first phase will involve 10 to 50 people who are 16 years and older; do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth; and are living on PEI at the time of the study. These individuals who chose to take part in this phase will be asked to complete an online survey. This survey will include an invitation for participants 18 years of age and over to provide their contact information if they are open to taking part in phase two.

In phase two, up to ten participants will be involved. They must be 18 years and older; do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth; are living on PEI/Epekwitk at the time of the study; and have accessed or tried to access gender-affirming health care on PEI/Epekwitk on or after July 2022.

The project was developed in partnership with the PEI Transgender Network. People who are interested in participating in the study may send an email to GACstudy2024@gmail.com.