Engaging Trans Community in Research
This page provides resources to guide ethical engagement with trans community members and stakeholders.
A doctor wearing a trans pin on their white coat pocket.
Community co-design is necessary for ethical trans research
It is crucial that research focused on trans and gender diverse communities is co-designed with community members and stakeholders. Ideally, this should be done as early as possible in the research process, to ensure community needs and priorities are reflected in the research design.
Trans and gender diverse people are frequently asked to provide community consultation, and it is critical to minimise burden on community members.
There are a range of resources available to assist researchers in meaningful community engagement.
This module discusses the planning, ethics and engagement of consumers including engagement with diverse trans and gender diverse people, as well as payment or reimbursement for community member’s time and expertise.
Trans Health Research have developed the Including Trans People in Research Guidelines for researchers engaging in research with trans people.
The NHMRC Statement on Sex, Gender, Variations of Sex Characteristics and Sexual Orientation in Health and Medical Research provides some great questions that researchers should take into consideration.
In addition to seeking ethical approval from their primary institution, we also recommend researchers approach ACON and/or Thorne Harbour Health Community Ethics Committees for approval of their project.
A non-binary person looking at their phone. Social media is one of the platforms used by Trans Health Research to promote research and recruit participants.
Can Trans Health Research promote my research?
Trans Health Research are committed to improving the safety of the trans community in research settings and minimising burden. The rationale, aim, methodology and wording of questions are important to us and as such, to minimise any potential harm to our community, we will generally only promote or share research that our team has had direct involvement in, such as through supervision or collaboration.
There are, however, many trans-specific and broader LGBTIQA+ community organisations and support groups that may be willing to share research promotional materials through their social media and other networks.
A non-binary person and their transfeminine colleague looking at a laptop together.
Does Trans Health Research provide consultation on research projects?
We love to collaborate with external researchers and research groups on projects that align with our goals and reflect community needs and priorities. Collaboration typically involves ongoing involvement in a research project from early design stages through to dissemination.
As we are a small research team, we do not have the capacity to provide consultation to external researchers. We strongly encourage researchers to engage directly with trans community members and key stakeholders, and to provide payment or reimbursement for community member’s time and expertise.
If you are a prospective or current student interested in supervision, please contact Dr Sav Zwickl, Dr Brendan Nolan, or A/Prof Ada Cheung directly though their Find an Expert Pages.
Two colleagues discussing their work.
Are there resources or networks for researchers engaged in trans research?
Trans Health Research have collated information about ethical research with trans and gender diverse people, LGBTIQA+ Research Ethics Committees, Researcher Networks, and key Australian trans health research publications here.
Additional resources including Professional Associations and Training Resources, and National and International Treatment Guidelines can be accessed here.