Creating an Inclusive Care Environment
Pride Month highlights the need for inclusive care in radiology
In recognition of Pride Month, RSNA News revisits a story originally featured in Daily Bulletin, highlighting an annual meeting session sponsored by the RSNA Health Equity Committee that explored inclusive care for transgender patients.
“This Pride Month more than ever, health care facilities have an important role in ensuring that all patients, especially the LGBTQIA+ population and other marginalized communities feel safe and affirmed,” said Anne Darrow, MD, MA, a radiologist specializing in breast imaging who will soon be joining faculty at the University of California, Davis. “We can create welcoming environments to provide excellent care with nonverbal signs of our support.”
“Fly your pride flags, put up rainbow and pronoun signage in your clinics and hospitals, review and update forms with gender inclusive language,” Dr. Darrow said. “Wear your pride color attire and pins and include your pronouns in daily interactions. These are just a few ideas that you can implement this month and year-round to create and maintain a safe space.”
Understanding Health Equity Challenges in Radiology
“The transgender community as a group is often underserved, overlooked and very vulnerable,” Dr. Darrow said. “It’s also a population that we don’t learn about in our medical training.”
Dr. Darrow regularly speaks to groups across Illinois and the country on health equity issues facing the LGBTQIA+ population. She began her RSNA 2024 session by discussing the complicated and non-binary nature of gender and sex. She noted the increasing number of individuals reporting their transgender status—from role models to younger generations—and said more will do the same if they feel safe, welcome, valued and understood.
Dr. Darrow shared examples of gender-affirming surgical procedures, including those that feminize or masculinize the face, neck, chest and body. “A lot of time patients have to educate their providers about these procedures, so we need to be aware of them,” she said.
Unfortunately, transgender individuals have higher rates of mental health symptoms, many of which stems from harassment, microaggressions and fear of violence.
“The transgender population tends to have higher rates of stress that lead to anxiety and depression,” Dr. Darrow said. “If as physicians we can provide treatment that has increased gender congruency offered in a safe space, it will impact the well-being of all our patients.”
Dr. Darrow also highlighted systemic barriers to care, including restrictive legislation and insurance policies. She noted that over the past five years, there have been record numbers of bills introduced that threaten access to medical care for transgender individuals.
At the institutional level, Dr. Darrow emphasized that creating truly inclusive environments requires intentional design and policy. In addition to visible signs of support, she encouraged radiologists to examine how inclusivity shows up in their clinical documentation.
This includes removing unnecessary gendered language from imaging reports and, when applicable, including gender-affirming medical, hormonal or surgical history, as well as an organ inventory.
She also stressed the importance of using and normalizing pronouns in a professional setting. “Using pronouns is a small tool that is really helpful and can be very affirming for the transgender community,” she said. “I encourage everyone to use them when introducing yourself and in emails.”
She also advised radiologists to be aware of screening guidelines for transgender individuals. Transgender women who undergo estrogen therapy for at least five years will develop breast tissue susceptible to cancer and should receive screening mammogram recommendations.
“Let's lay the groundwork so that when we interact with these patients, we understand their medical, social and surgical background and can make them feel welcomed while providing excellent care,” Dr. Darrow said.
For More Information
Learn more about RSNA’s health equity resources.
Access additional resources for inclusive care on EdCentral.
Read Daily Bulletin to learn more about important sessions covered during the annual meeting.