Manage Abstracts

Traditional nutrition assessment parameters assume a gender binary (identified as female or male at birth) thus, are of limited use when working with members of the trans community.

To consult with members of the trans community and colleagues working in trans health to seek guidance about developing trans-appropriate nutrition assessment approaches.

At a workshop at the Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health conference (CPATH), we described nutrition assessment parameters (Anthropometrics; Biochemical; Clinical; Dietary; Eating experiences/environments; relationships with Food and with others through Food), and invited attendees to record thoughts arising on coloured paper (one colour/parameter). Pages of the same colour were assembled, reviewed by one of the participants, and observations presented.

We did not collect attendee demographic information. Gender identifiers were not appropriate; observations were that of the six participants, one was an ally. All had experienced transitioning and/or working with the trans community. All worked in transhealth. Findings from the community consultation revealed a plethora of ideas on making nutrition assessment trans-appropriate. These ideas will form the basis of consultations with dietitians to develop clinical practice guidelines (CPG) of relevance in clinical, residential, and community settings. Unanticipated outcomes were that attendees became aware of the complexity of food, eating, and nutrition issues generally and for trans folk specifically, and that delegates not attending our session told us that they had become aware of the complexities of food/nutrition/eating issues from colleagues who
had attended the workshop.

We acquired information to inform consultations on CPG development, and were encouraged with delegates’ enthusiasm for the topic.

These results reflect the potential for nutrition professionals to partner with the trans/transhealth communities to optimize nutrition care. We will nurture our connections with CPATH to ensure the inclusion of food/nutrition issues in trans health learning opportunities.