The new resource sets a national standard for inclusive, patient-centred care
Researchers at McGill’s Centre of Genomics and Policy (CGP) have launched a first-of-its-kind guide to help Canadian health-care providers offer more inclusive, respectful and affirming care to intersex adults.
Co-written with Intersex Canada and developed in close collaboration with the intersex community, Towards Affirmative Intersex Health Communication in Canada is meant to address barriers in health care faced by people born with variations in physical sex characteristics that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies. These barriers range from stigma and discrimination to gaps in access and communication.
“Affirmative health communication is a key part of providing quality health care for intersex people,” explained Terese Knoppers, qualitative lead at the CGP and project co-ordinator.
“There are other guides like this in other countries, but Canada has its own unique medical system and histories. It was important to create a guide for this context and help health-care practitioners sensitively and respectfully engage with this population,” they said.