Virginia Transgender Health Initiative Study (THIS), 2005-2006 (ICPSR 31721)

Version Date: Sep 24, 2015

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Principal Investigator(s):
Judith B. Bradford, Fenway Community Health. Fenway Institute

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR31721.v1

Version V1

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Summary

The Virginia Transgender Health Initiative Study (THIS) was a multi-phase, multi-year project to improve the health of transgender Virginians. THIS included a quantitative survey, conducted from September 2005 to July 2006 with 387 respondents and a final analysis sample of 350, including 229 MTFs (male-to-females) and 121 FTMs (female-to-males). Participants were drawn from 60 of the 136 cities and counties in Virginia. The conceptual model that guided the study posits that transgenderism and its associated social stigma are root causes of poor health status, producing societal factors such as the prioritization of access to transgender-related medical services by transgender people, health care provider ignorance of transgender health, discrimination, and low self-esteem. These societal factors produce mediating factors such as provider hostility/insensitivity, lack of health insurance, insurance failure to cover transgender care, poverty, sex work, substance abuse, and gender identity validation through sex. The final products of these mediators are direct risk factors including self-medication with transgender hormones, injection silicone use, unprotected sex, and injection drug use. The survey measured demographics, access to regular medical services, access to transgender care services, employment discrimination, housing discrimination, sexual and physical violence, social support and self-esteem, suicidal ideation and attempts, substance abuse and tobacco use, HIV knowledge and perception of risk, HIV risk behaviors, HIV testing and status, and access to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services. Demographic variables include sex, gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, age, language, education, birthplace, residency status, income, and occupation.

Citation

Bradford, Judith B. Virginia Transgender Health Initiative Study (THIS), 2005-2006. Virginia Commonwealth University. Community Health Research Initiative [distributor], Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2015-09-24. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR31721.v1

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Funding

Virginia Department of Health, Division of Disease Prevention (U62/CCU323468/01), United States Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U62/CCU323468/01)

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Smallest Geographic Unit

county

Restrictions

Public and restricted versions of the data are included in this collection. Due to the sensitive nature of the restricted data, users will need to complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement before they can obtain the restricted version. These forms can be accessed on the download page associated with these data.

Distributor(s)

Virginia Commonwealth University. Community Health Research Initiative, Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

2005-09 -- 2006-07

Date of Collection

2005-09 -- 2006-07

Data Collection Notes

  1. The Virginia Transgender Task Force (TTF) included individuals from across the state of Virginia who were community members, service providers, and other allies. Created prior to developing the study design, the TTF provided guidance and assistance throughout development and implementation of the survey, and spoke about the study to community and professional audiences. Support for TTF meetings and travel to central locations was provided by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), Division of Disease Prevention. VDH continues to support the TTF, providing staff and resources to improve access to healthcare and related services for transgender communities throughout the state.

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Study Purpose

The Virginia Transgender Health Initiative Study (THIS) was a multi-phase, multi-year project to improve the health of transgender Virginians. The conceptual model that guided the study posits that transgenderism and its associated social stigma are root causes of poor health status, producing societal factors such as the prioritization of access to transgender-related medical services by transgender people, health care provider ignorance of transgender health, discrimination, and low self-esteem.

Sample

community-based

Time Method

Cross-sectional

Universe

Individuals aged 18 years and older who lived in or attended school in Virginia during the data collection period and who self-identified as transgender.

Unit(s) of Observation

individual

Data Source

surveys

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables

The survey instrument includes demographic variables such as gender identity, sexual orientation, age, race, preferred language, housing status, education, income, children, and employment status. Additionally, the survey covers a broad range of areas that impact transgender people. These include hormone use, surgeries, access to health care, health care utilization, health-related practices, health screening, HIV status, HIV-related care, alternative health practices, mental health (including physical and sexual abuse, substance), sexual behavior, relationships and supports.

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Original Release Date

2015-09-23

Version History

2018-02-15 The citation of this study may have changed due to the new version control system that has been implemented. The previous citation was:
  • Bradford, Judith B. Virginia Transgender Health Initiative Study (THIS), 2005-2006. ICPSR31721-v1. Richmond, VA: Virginia Commonwealth University. Community Health Research Initiative/Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributors], 2015-09-24. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR31721.v1

2015-09-23 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

  • Performed consistency checks.
  • Created variable labels and/or value labels.
  • Standardized missing values.
  • Created online analysis version with question text.
  • Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
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Notes

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This study is provided by Resource Center for Minority Data (RCMD).