Date Presented 04/03/2025
This session will introduce a practice framework and practitioner training module for gender-affirming OT in a large health system to develop an OT subspecialty on a multidisciplinary gender care team.
Primary Author and Speaker: Ellen Gross
Additional Authors and Speakers: Kristine Haertl
PURPOSE: Aligning with AOTA’s gender-affirming care policy (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2021), this quality improvement project was completed at Park Nicollet Gender Services, a multidisciplinary gender-affirming care team in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The project aimed to develop a scope for gender-affirming OT and instruct practitioners in evaluation, intervention, and documentation strategies to establish a referral pathway between Gender Services and occupational therapy.
DESIGN: Qualitative outcomes from the project were analyzed to describe OTPs’ attitudes and comfort, knowledge, and clinical preparedness to deliver gender-affirming care services after administering learning materials. Practitioners were recruited within the HealthPartners Park Nicollet health system and participated voluntarily.
METHOD: A practice framework and practitioner training module were created to guide the process of gender-affirming OT and provided to Park Nicollet OTPs. Questionnaires were distributed to the practitioners to analyze the effectiveness of the framework and module.
RESULTS: The project received intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary interest and support from all involved providers. Likert scale ratings of all measures improved following distribution of practitioner training materials, indicating practitioners gained an understanding of gender-affirming care and OT’s unique role within the specialty.
CONCLUSION: This project concluded that there is identified need, interest, and support for the role of occupational therapy within gender-affirming care. Participating OTPs demonstrated interest in expanding practice competency to encompass the health needs of gender diverse clients. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this project includes the first comprehensive framework to describe an explicit role for gender-affirming OT (Walker et al., 2021) and will initiate an expanded specialty of OT services within a large health system.
References
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2021). Affirming gender diversity and identity. Policy E.15. https://www.aota.org/-/media/corporate/files/aboutaota/officialdocs/policies/policy-e15-20211115.pdf
Walker, K., McCune, K., & Kirby, A. V. (2021, October). Occupational therapy’s role in gender-affirming surgeries. OT Practice, 26(10), 10–13. https://www.aota.org/publications/ot-practice/ot-practice-issues/2021/ot-role-gender-affirming-surgeries
