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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Increase the number of national surveys that collect data on transgender populations — LGBT‑02 Data Methodology and Measurement

On this page:  About the National Data  |  Methodology  |  History

About the National Data

Data

Data Source:  Healthy People 2030 Database (Data2030), CDC/NCHS

Baseline: 2 national, population-based surveys collected data on (or for) transgender populations in 2016

Target: 4 surveys

Numerator
Number of population-based federal surveys that include a question on (or for) transgender populations.
Target-setting method
Percent improvement
Target-setting method details
100 percent improvement from the baseline.
Target-setting method justification
Trend data were evaluated for this objective, but it was not possible to project a target because the data have stayed at a constant value over the previous years. A 100 percent improvement from the baseline was used to calculate a target. This method was used because while the baseline is low, and the trend is flat, methodological challenges that hampered progress in the past decade have been overcome. The Healthy People 2030 Workgroup Subject Matter Experts anticipated rapid acceleration in this area over the next 10 years.

Methodology

Methodology notes

The topic area workgroup will annually review federal, population-based surveys for their inclusion of transgender questions in the instrument. There are several dimensions of gender that can be measured: gender identity, gender expression, and gender dysphoria. Some surveys might aim to measure gender identity, or an individual's self-identified sense of gender. Others might be more interested in measuring gender expression, or an individual's external manifestation of gender. A survey may aim to identify individuals who experience gender dysphoria, the experience of a marked difference between self-identified gender and assigned gender.

History

Comparable HP2020 objective
Retained, which includes core objectives that are continuing from Healthy People 2020 with no change in measurement.