What You Need to Know About Gender-Affirming Healthcare

The document emphasizes the significance of gender-affirming healthcare for transgender and non-binary individuals, highlighting the importance of respecting patients' preferred names, pronouns, and language. It outlines the individualized process of transition, which can encompass social, legal, medical, and surgical aspects, and links access to gender-affirming healthcare to improved mental health outcomes. The document provides guidelines for healthcare providers and details about gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), which can be feminizing or masculinizing. It also discusses masculinizing GAHT, involving testosterone use, which results in permanent effects like voice deepening, facial hair growth, and genital changes. The document concludes that respectful treatment of trans individuals in healthcare settings encourages their continued engagement in medical care.