Reported use of participatory methods in health research with transgender and gender diverse populations: a scoping review

It is well established that health promotion is most effective when informed by the community it targets, through participatory methods. Transgender and gender diverse peoples have been marginalized and experience worse health and lower levels of service access when compared with cisgender individuals. The use of participatory methods in health research to address these issues is of high importance to help rectify this. The aim of this scoping review was to document the reported use of participatory methods in health research with transgender and gender diverse samples to map the current applications of these research frame works and priorities for future studies. The inclusion criteria for articles were published January 2014-February 2025, peer-reviewed, health research, transgender and gender diverse populations, English language, and participatory methods. Three databases were searched: CINAHL complete, MEDLINE complete and LGBTQ+ source. Articles were independently screened for eligibility. Consensus meetings were held to synthesize results. Forty-two papers were identified in the search that met inclusion criteria. The majority of studies were conducted in the United States (n = 23, 54.76%) and other high-income countries, ranging in time duration from several weeks to years, and commonly had as their research topic gender affirming care (n = 9, 21.42%), mental health and wellbeing (n = 9, 21.42%) and healthcare experiences (n = 8, 19.04%). Whilst most studies employed numerous strategies of community participation, a significant proportion (n = 14, 33.33%) of studies did not report having a community reference group. The aims of studies could be clustered under three broader categories; to understand or describe; to develop or evaluate; and research priority setting. Studies were heterogeneous and more rigorous application of participatory principles and reporting of methods is needed. Research with transgender and gender diverse populations must include their meaningful participation from inception to completion. Greater detail and clarity in reporting is necessary to aid future studies who can build on the successes and shortfalls of previous studies. To improve the health and well-being of different communities, it is important to involve the community in decisions about how health research will be done. In this paper, we have grouped such methods under the term ‘participatory’. Some populations of people have had poor experiences with research due to being socially marginalized, such as transgender and gender diverse peoples. Through involving them in making decisions about the research, they can have trust that the research is safe. We searched for articles that reported on studies using methods to involve transgender and gender diverse people, so that we could understand the ways that these communities are currently being involved in research and how this could be improved in the future. There were forty-two papers that were relevant, most of them focused on a few health topics and there were gaps in how the communities were involved in the research. We concluded that there is a need for researchers to describe in more detail what they have done in their studies and also that people should be involved in research from the beginning and throughout the lifetime of the project. In addition to this, involving transgender and gender diverse people in the development and undertaking of health research should be done across all aspects of health.