A scoping review of institutional policies and recommendations for trans inpatient mental health care.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Access to culturally sensitive care is critical for addressing known mental health disparities among trans-and gender-non-conforming (TGNC) individuals. Although there has been a proliferation of TGNC healthcare guidelines from accrediting bodies, policies have failed to address the needs of TGNC patients in inpatient psychiatric settings. To identify unaddressed needs in policies and policy recommendations for the care of TGNC patients to inform recommendations for change. A scoping review protocol was developed following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 850 articles were reduced to seven relevant articles with six themes identified via thematic analysis. Six themes were identified: lack of consistency in preferred and pronoun use, lack of communication among providers, lack of training in TGNC healthcare, personal bias, lack of formal policies, and housing segregation by sex rather than gender. The creation of new guidelines or bolstering of existing guidelines to specifically address identified themes and gaps may improve the well-being and treatment outcomes of TGNC individuals in inpatient psychiatric settings. To provide a foundation for future studies to integrate these identified gaps and inform the future development of comprehensive formal policies that generalize TGNC care in inpatient settings.