ℹ️How to make your forms inclusive?

Review your forms to ensure they are LGBTQIA+ affirming.

Intake forms are a great way to assist with the collection of necessary information and also be respectful and inclusive of LGBTQIA+ people before even meeting them. Collecting SOGIESC information can be crucial to understanding patients and their needs, whilst being inclusive and affirming.

✍️Adding additional name, pronouns, and gender boxes in your intake form

Even in the absence of legal gender recognition for transgender, intersex, and gender-diverse people, it remains crucial to validate their identities, including their names and gender identity. Adding additional columns for names and pronouns not only allows you to address them accordingly and enable them to access services, but also reduces any gender dysphoria.

👌Names/Pronouns

• Enable patients to provide their preferred name and pronouns, and if it differs from their legal document name, to specify the latter. Always use the patient’s preferred name instead of the name based on legal documents. As a rule of thumb, only collect names as per legal documents if strictly necessary. If you do collect them, it should be treated as sensitive data and stored securely.

• Sensitize staff to SOGIESC and understand the diversity amongst human bodies to ensure that patients can seek services with dignity.

• Ask "Could your chart be under a different name?" or “What is the name on your IC?" in cases where patients' names or gender do not match their medical data is an option. In order to double-check identification, look at the date of birth and the address.

🧕Gender

There are several ways to ensure the gender section in the intake form is affirming and inclusive.

Option 1: Free text response or open-ended question

This allows patients to freely express their gender without restrictions. This is the most inclusive and affirming option. However, it may pose a challenge for systemic documentation and analysis.

Example: “What is your gender? __________”

Option 2: Add gender categories for multiple choice questions

Offer a diverse range of gender options, extending beyond the binary 'woman' and 'man,' to include choices like 'non-binary' and 'agender.' Additionally, allow patients the flexibility to select multiple gender identities. It is important to clarify whether the categories 'man' and 'woman' encompass both cisgender and transgender or intersex people, or if they specifically refer to cisgender people.

Example: “Please select the gender identities that apply to you.”

Option 3: Expand and define ‘woman’ and ‘man’ beyond cisgender identities.

If it is important for your service to identify trans persons, you could ask that as a separate but optional question.

Option 4: Add an ‘other’ category in addition to the ‘man’ or ‘woman’ category.

However, this option could also result in the othering of those who do not identify as women or men. It is important to clarify whether the categories 'man' and 'woman' encompass both cisgender and transgender or intersex people, or if they specifically refer to cisgender people.

Example: refer to the image below.

From Community Health Pride: A toolkit to support LGBTIQ+ inclusive practice in Victorian community health services [See p. 5 of Making your service intersex friendly <https://ihra.org.au/services/> (Intersex Human Rights Australia 2014) for an example of an intersex-friendly intake form.]

Further reading on inclusive data-gathering - Data standard for gender, sex, and variations of sex characteristics