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In partnership with Transcend Transgender Support & Education Society, the Transgender Health Program completed the Trans Care Project in January 2006. The project aimed to create training materials and practice guidelines for clinicians in BC who are already “trans-positive” but lack the clinical knowledge necessary to effectively work with the transgender community.
Recognizing that transgender people have diverse health needs, the Trans Care Project aimed to address both general primary care and also the following trans-specific health concerns:
The project, which ran from June 2004 to January 2006, was funded primarily through a grant from the Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition, with additional support from Vancouver Coastal Health.
Seven sets of clinical guidelines, four training frameworks, and seventeen consumer information booklets were created as part of the project. PDFs of each are available via the links below. Print copies are available from the Transgender Health Program at no charge for individuals in BC (those ordering from outside BC will be asked to pay the costs of printing and shipping).
Twelve local and international clinicians expert in transgender care worked with local transgender community members to co-create evidence-based practice protocols in seven areas of care: adolescent health, clinical advocacy, hormone therapy, mental health, primary medical care, speech/voice change, and sex reassignment surgery. An additional 35 local and international clinicians peer reviewed draft versions of the guidelines. Transgender community members in the Transgender Health Program’s Education Working Group were also invited to review the drafts.
The protocols are consistent with the guiding principles of the Transgender Health Program discussed in the Kopala report (e.g., client-centred care, a harm reduction approach to hormone therapy) and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health's Standards of Care.