New Guidelines Aim to Prevent New Zealand Further Failing Trans Patients

It’s no secret that New Zealand is failing to keep up with the substantial increase in demand for gender-affirming healthcare. In April the Ministry of Health described their own services as “patchy” and stressed a need for them to be reviewed. Now, new guidelines have been created for health professionals working with transgender and gender diverse New Zealanders—and the authors are urging healthcare providers to act immediately as the number of patients is only going to grow.

The guidelines, developed by the New Zealand Medical Association, include recommendations for access to hormone therapies, puberty blockers, surgery and other gender-affirming healthcare services. It also clarifies key terminology like ‘gender diverse’ and ‘gender dysphoria’.

Other recommendations include encouraging health services to support culturally appropriate practices, like kaupapa Māori health frameworks and for district health boards to provide clear information and “flexible and responsive pathways” to access gender-affirming health services throughout Aotearoa. Authors of the new-and-improved approach worked with members of the local trans community and looked to international standards to shape the in-depth advice.

The guidelines also highlight how the Youth’12 survey estimated that trans youth—making up 1.2 percent of Aotearoa—were nearly five times more likely to experience regular bullying at school compared to their cisgender peers. It noted that 41 percent of trans youth experience significant depressive symptoms, compared to 12 percent of cisgender youth. Trans youth were more likely to have attempted suicide in a 12-month period when compared to their cisgendered peers—20 percent versus four.

These findings are supported by a recent UK study that revealed young people who identify as LGBTQI+ are more vulnerable to symptoms of depression from as young as 10. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health study surveyed almost 5000 young people seven times between the ages of 10 and 21, and found that those of a sexual minority were four times more likely than their heterosexual peers to report recent self-harm at the ages 16 and 21.

Dr Rohan Borschmann from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne said the findings reveal an urgent need for health-care professionals to address the underlying causes of these disparities. “Reducing stigma and discrimination could, therefore, provide a pathway to primary prevention of mental disorders, by reducing the burden of disease, improving public health, and reducing health inequities.”