Formative development of a fertility decision aid for transgender adolescents and young adults: a multidisciplinary Delphi consensus study

J Assist Reprod Genet. 2020 Nov;37(11):2805-2816. doi: 10.1007/s10815-020-01947-8. Epub 2020 Sep 30.

Abstract

Purpose: No educational and decision support tools exist to aid transgender and non-binary (TNB) adolescents and young adults (AYA) in making decisions about fertility preservation in the context of initiating gender-affirming medical care that can impair fertility. This study identified critical content areas and learning objectives to include in a decision aid about fertility preservation targeted for TNB AYA.

Methods: Delphi methodology was leveraged to engage 80 multidisciplinary experts in reproductive medicine and pediatric transgender health care in a two round consensus building procedure. Proposed content areas rated as "probably keep" or "definitely keep" by 75% of experts were retained. Proposed learning objectives reaching 75% agreement on ratings of importance and priority were also identified.

Results: The Delphi procedure identified five priority content areas (Basic Reproduction; Gender-Affirming Medical Interventions: Impacts on Fertility; Established Fertility Preservation Options; Benefits and Risks of Established Fertility Preservation Procedures; Alternative Pathways to Parenting) and 25 learning objectives to prioritize in a fertility-related decision aid for TNB AYA.

Conclusion: A multidisciplinary panel of experts achieved agreement around content areas and learning objectives to incorporate into a decision aid about fertility preservation for TNB AYA.

Keywords: Expert consensus; Fertility preservation; Gender diversity; Gender-affirming care; Shared decision-making.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Decision Making*
  • Decision Support Techniques
  • Female
  • Fertility / genetics
  • Fertility / physiology*
  • Fertility Preservation / psychology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Reproduction / physiology*
  • Transgender Persons / education*
  • Transgender Persons / psychology
  • Young Adult