Attitudes of Family Physicians in Southern Israel Toward Transgender Individuals: Comparison Between Senior Physicians and Residents

The purpose of the present study was to examine and compare the attitudes of residents and seniors in family medicine from southern Israel toward transgender patients. It was a cross-sectional study based on a self-administered questionnaire. Attitudes toward transgender patients were assessed by the Transgender Attitudes and Beliefs Scale composed of "Interpersonal comfort," "Sex/gender beliefs", and "Human value" domains. The "Sex/gender beliefs" domain measures a person's belief about whether gender is a fixed, binary characteristic or a more fluid continuum. Fifty-five specialists (26; 47.3% males) and 56 residents (31; 56.4% males) took part in the study. Overall, family medicine physicians showed a favorable attitude toward transgender individuals on the "Human value" subscale with 82 (74%) giving favorable scores, but only 38 (34.2%) of the physicians demonstrated a favorable attitude on the "Sex/gender beliefs" scale. In the multivariable regression analysis, where age, sex, ethnicity, seniority, and level of religiosity were included as predictor variables, non-Jewish ethnicity and high level of religiosity were significantly associated with the "Interpersonal comfort" domain (adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) (aOR (95% CI)) = 0.26 (0.09-0.78) and 0.34 (0.13-0.85), respectively). High level of religiosity was positively associated with the "Sex/gender beliefs" score (β = 0.11; 95% CI: 0.03-0.33). Female sex was positively associated with a favorable "Human value" attitude toward transgender patients at 4.03 (1.36-13.69), but residents had a negative aOR of 0.19 (0.04-0.85). In conclusion, our study identified physician characteristics associated with a less favorable attitude toward transgender patients. They should be the focus of interventions aimed at improving these attitudes.