Tag: workshops

Currently, most federally-supported population-based surveys do not include measures to identify transgender and other gender minority respondents, according to a report released by the Williams Institute on behalf of the Gender Identity in U.S. Surveillance (GenIUSS) group. The report entitled, "Best Practices for Asking Questions to Identify Transgender and Other Gender Minority Respondents on Population-Based Surveys," assesses current practices in sex and gender-related population research and offers strategies for establishing consistent, scientifically rigorous procedures for gathering information relevant to the needs and experiences of transgender people and other gender minorities.

The American Community Survey, the Current Population Survey, the Survey of Income and Program Participation, the National Crime Victimization Survey, the National Health Interview Survey, and the National Survey of Veterans are among the federally-supported population-based surveys that currently do not include measures to identify gender minority respondents. These are top-priority surveys for including recommended sex and gender-related measures.

"Research tells us that transgender people and other gender minorities face discrimination that impacts their health and well-being," says Jody L. Herman, who served as editor for the report and leads Williams Institute transgender research efforts. “Having representative data on the social, economic, and health status of gender minorities is key to guiding efforts by government and nonprofit agencies to address disparities."

The report recommends various promising measures and measurement approaches for identifying respondents as gender minorities in general population surveys. Among the most effective is the "two step" approach, which includes measures of self-reported assigned sex at birth (the sex recorded on one?s original birth certificate) and gender identity at the time of the survey.

Related to this post:

Creating Authentic Spaces: A Gender Identity and Gender Expression Toolkit: This toolkit provides constructive and tangible steps on how to implement anti-discrimination policies around gender identity and gender expression, as well as strategies and suggestions on creating affirming spaces for people who identify as trans and gender non-conforming.

Online article from Preventing Chronic Disease:

Boscoe FP, Pradhan E. The Most Distinctive Causes of Death by State, 2001-2010. Prev Chronic Dis 2015;12:140395. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd12.140395

The map depicts a variety of distinctive causes of death based on a wide range of number of deaths, using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10), List of 113 Selected Causes of Death file to present a nuanced view of mortality variation within the United States.

"Thousands of measures are in use today to assess health and health care in the United States. Although many of these measures provide useful information, their sheer number, as well as their lack of focus, consistency, and organization, limits their overall effectiveness in improving performance of the health system. To achieve better health at lower cost, all stakeholders – including health profes­sionals, payers, policy makers, and members of the public – must be alert to the measures that matter most. What are the core measures that will yield the clearest understanding and focus on better health and well-being for Americans?"

In this Institute of Medicine report, with accompanying infographics, video, and briefs, a set of 15 standardized mea­sures is recommended. It is hoped that these could provide consistent benchmarks for health progress across the nation and improve system performance in the highest-priority areas.

What do you think?