Healthcare Professionals’ Insights on Physical Activity for Trans and Gender Diverse Adolescents: A Qualitative Exploration
Samantha J. Adler, Katheen K. Miller, Iris W. Borowsky, Hana-May Eadeh, G. Nic Rider, Kevin Kuo, Sarah M. KajaPurpose
As a preliminary step in developing a physical activity (PA) intervention for trans and gender diverse (TGD) adolescents, we aimed to understand healthcare professionals’ perspectives on the benefits of and barriers to PA among TGD patients. Furthermore, we sought their advice on creating a PA intervention that addresses the mental and social health concerns that disproportionately affect this population.
Design
Qualitative descriptive study.
Setting
Conducted on Zoom with participants in the Midwest U.S.
Participants
Healthcare professionals serving TGD youth (N = 17).
Method
Individual, semi-structured interviews were analyzed via template analysis.
Results
Professionals observed limited organized PA involvement among TGD patients, expressing concern with their under-involvement. Many perceived existing organized PA opportunities to be scarce, naming barriers to organized PA that were universal, and gender-specific barriers like binary gendered teams and structures, TGD adolescents’ fears of harassment, and PA environments exacerbating body-consciousness. All professionals thought organized PA could benefit TGD adolescent patients through improving disease risk factors, mental health outcomes, and social connections. Regarding PA intervention components, professionals recommended emphasizing social opportunities, including TGD/queer staff, training staff in biases and trauma TGD adolescents can experience in PA environments, and avoiding social comparison or weight-centrism.
Conclusion
Healthcare professionals recognize value in social organized PA opportunities and desire a tailored PA intervention for their patients, especially one developed with TGD adolescents’ personal insights.