This page contains the following categories of information relating to locating relevant research about transgender and gender diverse individuals.
The authors of this guide note that biases can have an impact on the quality of research, particularly when working with people. This is especially the case when working with vulnerable groups, such as health care patients or marginalized groups. The following article researches and discusses some ways that researchers can make their research on transgender patients more patient focused.
The Homosaurus platform provides a linked data vocabulary of LGBTQ+ terms. Supports LGBTQ+ research by suggesting possible search headings that may be relevant to a given keyword or term.
The University of Minnesota Library Resources on Transgender Topics provides a collection of search terms and search hedges for different databases.
International Journal of Transgender Health (Previously published as International Journal of Transgenderism): In partnership with WPATH, publishes articles of many types about health care for transgender patients.
Transgender Health: Publishes articles relevant to all aspects of health care for transgender individuals.
Transgender Studies Quarterly: Publishes articles focusing on the humanities relevant to transgender studies.
Journal of Gender Studies: Focuses on articles that study the humanities relevant to all aspects of gender studies.
Gender Issues: Publishes articles focusing on gender equity and issues related to gender equity.
LGBT Health: Publishes articles relevant to all aspects of health care for sexual and gender minority populations.
Culture, Health, and Sexuality: Focuses on gender and sexuality as they pertain to health systems and culture.
Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services: Focuses on social services for HIV care.
AIDS Research and Treatment: Publishes articles relevant to all aspects of care and treatment for HIV and AIDS.
Journal of LGBT Youth: Publishes articles focused on improving quality of life for LGBTQIA+ youth.
Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling: Journal associated with SAIGE, a division of the American Counseling Association, this journal focuses on the needs of LGBTQIA+ individuals within the counseling setting.
Resources presented in this guide partially found using the search terms listed below. Note that this is not an inherently exhaustive collection of search terms, but some that may be helpful when finding resources on transgender health care.
General Keywords
(“Transgender” OR “Gender diverse” OR “Non-binary” OR “Intersex” OR “Gender non-conforming" OR “Gender minority”) AND (“Assessment” OR “Education” OR “Epidemiology” OR “Hormone Therapy” OR “Mental Health” OR “Primary Care” OR “Reproductive Health” OR “Sexual Health” OR “Surgery” OR “Voice” OR “Gender-affirming medical treatment” OR “Evidence-based care” OR “Standards of care”) AND "United States"
PubMed
((Gender Identity [MeSH Terms]) OR (Gender-Affirming Care [MeSH Terms]) OR (Gender Dysphoria [MeSH Terms]) OR (Sex Reassignment Surgery [MeSH Terms]) OR (Sex Reassignment Procedures [MeSH Terms]) OR (Health Services for Transgender Persons [MeSH Terms]) OR (Sexual and Gender Minorities [MeSH Terms])) AND ((Transgender Persons [MeSH Terms]) OR (Gender Non-Conforming Persons [MeSH Terms]) OR (Intersex Persons [MeSH Terms]) OR (Sexual and Gender Minorities [MeSH Terms]))
CINAHL Complete
((MH “Gender Transition”) OR (MH “Gender Dysphoria”) OR (MH “Gender Identity”) OR (MH “Gender Affirmation Procedures”) OR (MH “Gender Affirming Care”) OR (MH “Gender Affirmation Surgery”) OR (MH “Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy”) OR (MH “Voice Therapy, Transgender”) OR (MH “Intersexuality”) OR (MH “Pseuodointersexuality”)) AND ((MH “Gender Non-Conforming Persons”) OR (MH “Sexual and Gender Minorities”) OR (MH “Nonbinary Persons”) OR (MH “Transgender Persons”) OR (MH “Trans Women”) OR (MH “Trans Men”) OR (MH “Black LGBTQ+ Persons”) OR (MH “Intersex Persons”) OR (MH “Hijras”))
CINAHL Plus with Full Text
((MH “Gender Transition”) OR (MH “Gender Dysphoria”) OR (MH “Gender Identity”) OR (MH “Gender Affirmation Procedures”) OR (MH “Gender Affirming Care”) OR (MH “Gender Affirmation Surgery”) OR (MH “Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy”) OR (MH “Voice Therapy, Transgender”) OR (MH “Intersexuality”) OR (MH “Pseuodointersexuality”)) AND ((MH “Gender Non-Conforming Persons”) OR (MH “Sexual and Gender Minorities”) OR (MH “Nonbinary Persons”) OR (MH “Transgender Persons”) OR (MH “Trans Women”) OR (MH “Trans Men”) OR (MH “Black LGBTQ+ Persons”) OR (MH “Intersex Persons”) OR (MH “Hijras”))
MEDLINE via Ovid
(Gender Identity/ OR Gender-Affirming Care/ OR Gender Dysphoria/ OR Sex Reassignment Surgery/ OR Sex Reassignment Procedures/ OR Health Services for Transgender Persons/ OR Sexual and Gender Minorities/) AND (Transgender Persons/ OR Gender Non-Conforming Persons/ OR Intersex Persons/ OR Sexual and Gender Minorities/)
The following is a list of some relevant call numbers from the Library of Congress (LC) to transgender health care. More information about LC call numbers can be found on the Library of Congress webpage. The authors of this guide note that the language used for LC classifications are influenced by historical terminology and perspectives and do not necessarily represent common use of language for this topic.
HQ 77 - Transexualism
HV 40 - Social service. Social work. Charity organization and practice. Including social case work, private and public relief, institutional care, rural social work, work relief.
HV 1426 - Young adults. Youth. Teenagers
P 90 - Communication. Mass Media.
RA 564 - Public Health. Hygiene. Preventative medicine.
RC 434 - Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
RC 451 - Psychiatry
RC 488 - Therapeutics. Psychotherapy.
RD 584 - Surgery by region, system, or organ.