Project Details
Layman's description
Meaningful interventions to improve the sexual health experience and outcomes of young adults (18-25 years old) is a key Public Health focus. To do this effectively, it is vital to have foundational research which explores the intersections and compounding forces of marginalised groups who are underserved. This is particularly important for groups whose existence and experience are sparsely represented in research, namely those with a Trans, Non-Binary or Gender Diverse (TGD) identity. This project seeks to understand TGD young adults’ current position, and explore factors which improve their health outcomes, to influence future research and health policy.
This project will compare TGD young adults from two ostensibly similar countries, Belgium and the UK, which have different approaches to TGD health. 56 Dean Street is a world leading sexual health clinic in Soho, and part of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. The clinic has a new Trans Health service, TransPlus, and sees patients from the national adult waiting list for gender affirming care. 56 Dean Street also holds a weekly walk-in sexual health clinic for any TGD person, known as 56T. The Centre for Sexology and Gender (CSG) is a world leading Gender affirming care service in Ghent, Belgium, which accepts TGD patients in the state of Flanders. The Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Antwerp, also Flanders, provides the most prominent walk-in sexual health clinic for TGD people, similar to 56T. By comparing the two countries, this project will highlight strengths and weaknesses from the health and social structures that TGD young adults are developing in, and the impact on their sexual health and wellbeing.
This project has five parts, which will be combined at the end of the project to create an overall understanding of the sexual health, behaviours and resilience of TGD young adults.
The first part is a review and analysis of all available scientific work on the health and wellbeing of TGD young adults. There will be a focus on the sexual health and wellbeing of TGD people, however the review will also include details on the holistic aspects of health, such as physical health, mental health, neurodiversity and disability.
The second part of the project is a study from a “top down” perspective of life in Belgium and the UK, for TGD young adults. This includes comparing the health systems and legal structures that influence sexual health, gender affirming care, and the broader life of TGD young adults. This holistic study of TGD young adults will contextualise the remaining project.
The third part of the project is a retrospective case note study of the health of Trans young adults at 56 Dean Street, which can be compared with work currently being undertaken at CSG. The anonymsed notes of patients under 25 attending 56 Dean Street in a year will be reviewed to find rates of STIs, including HIV, in the population served. This study will JRC Application Pack Version 2.2, Oct 2024 12 also provide comprehensive details on the demographics and general health of the patients attending clinic, including disability, neurodivergence and employment status, which will be compared to the participants of this project, to ensure that the project is representative of the Dean Street attendees.
The fourth part is a measurable element will administer a group of three surveys to 400 TGD young adults recruited in equal amounts through 56 Dean Street and CSG. Sexual health and behaviours will be measured through the Australian TGD sexual health and behaviours survey, which will be updated to reflect current health needs in sexual health, such as exposure to and vaccination from mpox, HPV and Hepatitis B. It will also use two validated measures of resilience, the ability to overcome setbacks and struggles.
The fifth part of the patient focused part of the project is to contextualise the quantitative measures with semi-structured interviews of diverse range of 40 participants. This will ensure that the project reflects and understands the lived experiences of the patients that the clinics serve, and that results and recommendations are generated from the community directly.
Finally, the project will draw together the different strands of information garnered, the literature review, “top down” study, the case note reviews, the surveys and the interviews, to create a full understanding of the sexual health and wellbeing of TGD young adults attending 56 Dean Street and CSG. Rather than measure further vulnerabilities to poor sexual health, this project will take a positive approach and use validated measures of resilience, the ability to overcome setbacks and struggles. This approach has been used to uncover new scientific findings in other groups of people and create effective clinical recommendations, and this project aspires to be equally impactful.
This project will compare TGD young adults from two ostensibly similar countries, Belgium and the UK, which have different approaches to TGD health. 56 Dean Street is a world leading sexual health clinic in Soho, and part of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. The clinic has a new Trans Health service, TransPlus, and sees patients from the national adult waiting list for gender affirming care. 56 Dean Street also holds a weekly walk-in sexual health clinic for any TGD person, known as 56T. The Centre for Sexology and Gender (CSG) is a world leading Gender affirming care service in Ghent, Belgium, which accepts TGD patients in the state of Flanders. The Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Antwerp, also Flanders, provides the most prominent walk-in sexual health clinic for TGD people, similar to 56T. By comparing the two countries, this project will highlight strengths and weaknesses from the health and social structures that TGD young adults are developing in, and the impact on their sexual health and wellbeing.
This project has five parts, which will be combined at the end of the project to create an overall understanding of the sexual health, behaviours and resilience of TGD young adults.
The first part is a review and analysis of all available scientific work on the health and wellbeing of TGD young adults. There will be a focus on the sexual health and wellbeing of TGD people, however the review will also include details on the holistic aspects of health, such as physical health, mental health, neurodiversity and disability.
The second part of the project is a study from a “top down” perspective of life in Belgium and the UK, for TGD young adults. This includes comparing the health systems and legal structures that influence sexual health, gender affirming care, and the broader life of TGD young adults. This holistic study of TGD young adults will contextualise the remaining project.
The third part of the project is a retrospective case note study of the health of Trans young adults at 56 Dean Street, which can be compared with work currently being undertaken at CSG. The anonymsed notes of patients under 25 attending 56 Dean Street in a year will be reviewed to find rates of STIs, including HIV, in the population served. This study will JRC Application Pack Version 2.2, Oct 2024 12 also provide comprehensive details on the demographics and general health of the patients attending clinic, including disability, neurodivergence and employment status, which will be compared to the participants of this project, to ensure that the project is representative of the Dean Street attendees.
The fourth part is a measurable element will administer a group of three surveys to 400 TGD young adults recruited in equal amounts through 56 Dean Street and CSG. Sexual health and behaviours will be measured through the Australian TGD sexual health and behaviours survey, which will be updated to reflect current health needs in sexual health, such as exposure to and vaccination from mpox, HPV and Hepatitis B. It will also use two validated measures of resilience, the ability to overcome setbacks and struggles.
The fifth part of the patient focused part of the project is to contextualise the quantitative measures with semi-structured interviews of diverse range of 40 participants. This will ensure that the project reflects and understands the lived experiences of the patients that the clinics serve, and that results and recommendations are generated from the community directly.
Finally, the project will draw together the different strands of information garnered, the literature review, “top down” study, the case note reviews, the surveys and the interviews, to create a full understanding of the sexual health and wellbeing of TGD young adults attending 56 Dean Street and CSG. Rather than measure further vulnerabilities to poor sexual health, this project will take a positive approach and use validated measures of resilience, the ability to overcome setbacks and struggles. This approach has been used to uncover new scientific findings in other groups of people and create effective clinical recommendations, and this project aspires to be equally impactful.
| Status | Active |
|---|---|
| Effective start/end date | 6/06/25 → … |
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