141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

289164
Best practices for asking gender-related questions on surveys

Tuesday, November 5, 2013 : 11:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Jody Herman, PhD , Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law, Los Angeles, CA
Transgender people across the United States today frequently encounter prejudice, violence, and institutionalized discrimination in areas of everyday life, including in health care. Yet, existing research on transgender people's health and well-being is limited and many aspects of the needs and experiences of transgender people remain unexplored. A crucial step in building the knowledge we need about transgender people's health and access to health care is adding questions that allow us to characterize the needs of transgender respondents to federally-supported surveys, such as the National Health Interview Survey. But, first we must determine what questions should be asked. Survey questions are needed that will accurately reflect the identities and lived experiences of transgender people.

The GenIUSS group (Gender Identity in U.S. Surveillance) is a collaboration of scientists, scholars, and transgender leaders dedicated to increasing knowledge about gender-related measurement and promoting the inclusion of these measures on population-based surveys, with particular consideration for publicly-funded data collection efforts. The GenIUSS group has engaged in a multi-year effort to research best practices for asking gender-related questions on surveys. This presentation will describe the findings from this multi-year collaboration, including specific recommendations regarding survey questions on gender identity, gender expression, and sex assigned at birth. Considerations for special populations, such as youth, and implications for analysis of data collected using these questions will also be discussed.

Learning Areas:
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Diversity and culture
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe recommended gender-related measures for surveys. Discuss considerations for special populations, such as youth. Identify implications for analysis of data collected with these questions.

Keywords: Data Collection, Underserved Populations

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the organizer and a collaborating researcher involved in a multi-year initiative called the GenIUSS group, convened by the Williams Institute, to research and design best practices for gender-related survey measures. I have been the principle investigator or co-investigator on multiple projects involving the development and design of survey instruments inclusive of and/or targeted to transgender populations.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.