Welcome to our research blog! This is the space which we will use to periodically give updates on our research project, and also to let you know what we are all getting up to, maybe giving some insight into a day in the life of a researcher on our project.
For the time being, we have been getting the project up and running, and preparing for our screening survey and interviews. If you are interested in taking part, please make sure to check in every now and then at (URL for survey page).
The bulk of the work I have been doing so far has been looking at national healthcare policies relating to trans people and the kinds of discussions healthcare providers are having about trans people. This is to look at instances of guidance and policy relating to the health of trans people, and look at what factors may be at play in these regions. We can then put this into practise to create useful advice and educational materials for doctors and commissioners. We aim to do this throughout our research, as we want this project to be one that makes a difference. We should hopefully have a report which will be available to download if you check back in later.
I am very excited for my work within this research project, as you can see from my bio it is something I am interested in not just from a professional perspective, put also from a personal one. I know from my own experiences the struggle of changing GP and being asked to pick a gender from two options, and neither seems right. But equally, I know how great it feels when a healthcare professional gets it right without me having to tell them first. I want every trans person to have that experience of affirming healthcare, and to be able to get the healthcare they want and need without fear of prejudice or discrimination.
I am hopeful that this research project will make these changes, and will show medical professionals that trans inclusion isn’t scary and isn’t difficult. I want it to put commissioners at ease and help them to write meaningful and effective policies which help trans people. All of us on the research project are hopeful to make effective change for trans people, and you can find out more about us if you visit our project group page (Link). We want to make sure we get things right, and that anything we do reflects the language and the needs of the trans community. Our research is focused on not just what I as a singular non-binary person may want, or what we as a team of trans and cis researchers may want, but on what the community as a whole wants and needs from our healthcare services.
As I said at the start, we will periodically write updates on the blog and you can check back in on our blog page every now and then to find out about the progress of this research project.