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. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-14791-5.