1. Patient-reported outcomes, provider-reported outcomes, and physiologic parameters after gender-affirming hormone treatment in Canada: a systematic review.
- Author
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Jackman L, Chan C, Garvilles M, and Kamran R
- Abstract
Purpose: Canada has experienced a ten-fold increase in referrals for gender-affirming care. Clinical guidelines emphasize the importance of a comprehensive and systematic approach to outcome measurement for gender-affirming hormonal care. However, research is lacking on the investigation of outcomes of Canadian gender-affirming hormonal treatments., Methods: In total, five databases were searched, as follows: MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Scopus, and CINAHL on December 26, 2023. To meet inclusion criteria, each study needed to be an original article including patients identifying as transgender or gender diverse (TGD) who were receiving gender-affirming hormonal care in Canada. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) and Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) tools were used to assess the methodological quality of the study. Descriptive frequencies were calculated for demographic information and a narrative synthesis was conducted to summarize outcomes organized for different treatments., Results: A total of 3315 articles were identified, with 34 articles being included, representing 3990 patients. Physiologic parameters were reported in 62% of the studies and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in 50%, although only 32% utilized standardized patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). In studies reporting quantitative results, testosterone treatments showed 80% effectiveness in achieving desired physical changes, while several studies demonstrated that estrogen and antiandrogen treatments improved mental health in 85% of patients. The narrative synthesis of the results reveals positive outcomes and limited adverse effects of gender-affirming hormone therapy; however, it also underscores the need for standardized, consistent outcome measurement tools, particularly PROMs., Conclusion: The present systematic review highlights the need for standardized outcome reporting in gender-affirming hormone therapy, underscoring the need for measurement of the patient's perspective through PROMs. Resolving these issues can improve evidence-based practices and support high-quality, patient-centered gender-affirming hormone care., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical approval: This study was reviewed by the University of Oxford and deemed exempt from ethical approval as the study did not collect data from the participants and is a review of published literature. Informed consent: Not applicable as this is a systematic review of published literature. Conflict of interest: None of the authors have any conflicts of interest to declare., (© 2024. The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2025
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