Projects

Reconceptualizing Gender & Health

Reconceptualizing Gender & Health

Gender Screener

Gender Screener

The goal of this project is to develop a short screener for use with parents in primary care settings to identify children ages 3-12 who hold gender identities that do not align with sex assigned at birth. Early screening could help identify families that would benefit from resources such as information and referrals for gender-affirming care. Having pediatricians talking with all families about gender could also help normalize gender expansive identities.

Project Director

Amy Hillier

Collaborators

Funding

Policy 252 (Past Project)

Past Project

Experience of Participant in Support Group for Parents of Transgender Children

Project Director

Amy Hillier

Collaborators

Kel Kroehle, Hazel Edwards, Giana Graves, Phantazia Washington, Rahsaan Galloway, Paulaijah Sparrow, Emma Stone, Jillian Shainman, and Rachel Benjamin

Funding

Penn Center for Public Health Initiatives Community-Driven Research

Experience of Participant in Support Group for Parents of Transgender Children (Past Project)

Past Project

Experience of Participant in Support Group for Parents of Transgender Children

Parents participating in a support group for families with transgender children through Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Mazzoni’s Pediatric and Adolescent Comprehensive Transgender Services (PACTS) program were asked to complete online surveys about the specific ways it was helpful, how it impacted them and their trans/GNC child, and if they faced barriers to participating.

Project Director

Amy Hillier

Collaborator

Betsy Torg

Families in Transition (Past Project)

Families in Transition (Past Project)

This project looks at the experience of transgender young adults sharing their gender identity with parents and family. Trans-identified social work students conducted in-depth interviews with 26 people ages 18-30 in the fall of 2017. We are using a phenomenological lens to understand these experiences. We have imagined a follow-up study interviewing parents about their experience of having their children share trans identities.

Project Director

Amy Hillier

Collaborators

Loran Grishow-Schade, Michelle Thompson, Sarah Gzesh, and Caushe Spellman

Resources

First AuthorAdditional AuthorsTitlePublicationDateMethod
Amy HillierNadia Dowshen, Matt Diemer, Steve MarcusAcceptability of Screening for Gender Identity in a National Sample of Parents with Young ChildrenTransgender Health2024surveys (parents)
Matt DiemerAmy Hillier, Steve MarcusPreliminary development of a brief parent-report gender identity alignment/distress screener for childrenBritish Journal of Developmental Psychology2024surveys (parents)
Anne EsacoveCommon Patterns of Cisgender Use in Public Health Articles and Their Implications for Gender Inclusivity Efforts, 2013‒2020American Journal of Public Health2024content analysis (journal articles)
Ari GzeshDana Prince, Scott Jelinek, Amy Hillier, Shanna Kattarie, Jama Shelton, Megan Paceley“Death threats and despair”: A conceptual model delineating moral distress experienced by pediatric gender-affirming care providersSocial Science and Humanities Open2023conceptual essay
Loran Grishow-SchadeAmy Hillier, Ari Gzesh, Michelle ThompsonBreadcrumbs for Family: How Gender Nonconforming, Non-Binary, and Transgender Adults Give and Receive Gender MessagesLGBTQ+ Family: An Interdisciplinary Journal2023Interviews (trans young adults)
Hillier, AmyKroehle, Kel“I’ll Save You a Seat”: Negotiating Power in a Participatory Action Resarch Project with Queer and Trans Young AdultsUrban Education2021Review essay
Hillier, AmyKroehle, Kel; Edwards, Hazel; Graves, GianaRisk, resilience and situated agency of trans high school studentsJournal of LGBT Youth2019Focus groups
Castro, AmyHillier, Amy and Perry, MoniqueStreet-level bureaucrats and intersectional policy logic: A case study of LGBT policy and implementation barriers.Journal of Policy Practice and Research2020Survey (teachers)
Hillier, AmyTorg, BetsyParent participation in a support group for families with transgender children: “Being in the company of others who do not question the reality of our experience”.Transgender Health2019Survey (parents)
Kidd, K.M.Sequeira, G.M, Paglisotti, T, Katz-Wise S.L., Kazmerski, T.M, Hillier, A., Miller, E, Dowshen, N.“This Could Mean Death for My Child”: Parent Perspectives on Laws Banning Gender-Affirming Care.Journal of Adolescent Health2020Interviews (parents)
Hillier, AmyBunten, Devin M.Queering our Understanding of Fair HousingPerspective on Fair Housing2020Review essay
Hillier, AmyPromoting spatial inclusion: How everday places signal who is welcome.The Handbook of Community Movements and Local Organizations, 2nd edition2018Review essay
Grishow-Schade, LoranKroehle, Kel; Hillier, AmyPolicy 252 at the Three-year Mark: How Are We Doing?self-published report2019Focus groups

Transforming Data Systems to Achieve Health Equity for LGBTQ+ Communities (2022)

In this 15-minute video, professionals and youth leaders presents ten recommendations for promoting LGBTQ+ health equity with a specific focus on ethical and inclusive research and data practices. This collaboration was an offshoot of the LGBTQ+ expert panel assembled to inform the National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems.

What LGBTQ Students Want from their Faculty (2019)

Fifteen LGBTQ-identified Penn students tell faculty what they need in order to fully participate and learn in the classroom: (1) Recognize LGBTQ students in your classroom; (2) Respect pronouns; (3) Integrate LGBTQ content and voices; (4) Be brave in managing your classroom; and (5) Practice humility and be open to learning. This video was produced by faculty, staff and students at the University of Pennsylvania with support from Penn Futures Project and the Provost’s Excellence Through Diversity program.

252: The School District of Philadelphia’s Policy on Love and Respect (2016)

This short video introduces the team of youth who helped create Policy 252, the School District of Philadelphia’s Policy for transgender and gender non-conforming youth and highlights some of the key themes, including love and respect, that are central to the policy.

Contact Us

Amy Hillier, MSW, PhD

ahillier@upenn.edu