Collaborating with transgender youth to educate healthcare trainees and professionals: randomized controlled trial of a didactic enhanced by brief videos

Background In collaboration with members of the transgender and gender diverse (TGD) community, we created a didactic resource about the unique needs of TGD youth. Methods We developed teaching materials enhanced by video clips of two TGD adolescents openly sharing aspects of their lived experience. We compared the video and no video conditions in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in which participants were assigned to one of four parallel conditions: 1) a transgender [TgV] or 2) a cisgender [CgV] woman presenting with videos embedded into the presentation, 3) the same cisgender woman presenting without the videos [CgN], or 4) a no intervention control [NiC]. Our primary outcome was change in the total score of the Transgender Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs Scale (T-KAB). Results We recruited and proportionally randomized 467 individuals, 200 of whom completed ratings before and after the intervention: TgV ( n = 46), CgV ( N = 46), CgN ( n = 44), and NiC ( n = 64). Mean scores on all measures of TGD acceptance increased in the video group, compared to the no video group. Improvements persisted after 30 days ( p < 0.01), except on perceptions about TGD family members. The three active intervention groups did not differ in efficacy. Conclusions These findings provide empirical evidence that a well-informed presenter, regardless of their gender, can achieve similar improvements in perceptions and knowledge about TGD youth when using a resource that can be disseminated free of cost.