Sex and gender in the US health surveillance system: a call to action.
Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data have exposed significant sexual orientation disparities in health. Interest in examining the health of transgender youths, whose gender identities or expressions are not fully congruent with their assigned sex at birth, highlights limitations of the YRBS and the broader US health surveillance system. In 2009, we conducted the mixed-methods Massachusetts Gender Measures Project to develop and cognitively test measures for adolescent health surveillance surveys. A promising measure of transgender status emerged through this work. Further research is needed to produce accurate measures of assigned sex at birth and several dimensions of gender to further our understanding of determinants of gender disparities in health and enable strategic responses to address them.
Kerith Jane Conron and Sari L. Reisner are with the Center for Population Research in LGBT Health, Fenway Institute, Fenway Health, Boston, MA. Kerith J. Conron is also with the Department of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston. Sari L. Reisner is also with the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston. Stewart J. Landers is with John Snow Inc, Boston. Randall L. Sell is with the Department of Community Health and Prevention, Drexel University School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA.
Kerith J
KJ
Conron
Stewart J
SJ
Landers
Sari L
SL
Reisner
Randall L
RL
Sell
D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008404:Massachusetts / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D063106:Transgender Persons / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology