Barriers and facilitators for accessing and prescribing hormone therapy in primary care for transgender adults: a scoping review protocol.

Abstract

The objective of this scoping review is to understand the extent and type of evidence in relation to barriers and facilitators experienced by transgender adults in accessing hormone therapy. It will also explore the experiences of primary care practitioners in prescribing hormone therapy in primary care. Providing care to transgender patients is a rapidly growing area of primary care. Despite the existence of clinical practice guidelines that support the prescription of gender-affirming hormone therapy in primary care, only a small number of primary care providers are offering this care. This review will seek to advance research on this topic by examining the barriers and facilitators of hormone prescription for transgender adults in primary care. This review will consider research on primary care practitioners who prescribe hormone therapy to transgender adults. It will also focus on transgender adults who seek hormone therapy in primary care. Only studies that examine barriers and facilitators in primary care will be included. The review will include qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies, in addition to systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The search will include MEDLINE, CINAHL, EmCare, and Nursing and Allied Health Premium. No date limits will be applied to the search. Only articles written in English will be eligible for inclusion. Articles will be reviewed and data extracted by 2 independent reviewers. The results of the extracted data will be presented in a narrative summary with accompanying tables.