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Posted on 26 Jul 2017

Professor Jon Arcelus, MD, MSc, FRCPsych, PhD, Professor of Mental Health and Transgender Health, based at the University of Nottingham and the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health, run by Nottinghamshire Healthcare, has been appointed as Co-Chair to develop the Standards of Care 8^th edition.

Standards of Care (SOC) are developed by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), as guidelines to promote the highest standards of healthcare for transgender people around the world. The SOC are based on the best available science and expert professional agreement.

The overall goal of the SOC is to provide clinical guidance based on evidence for health professionals to assist transgender, and gender nonconforming people with safe and effective pathways to achieving lasting personal comfort with their gendered selves, in order to maximize their overall health, psychological wellbeing, and self-fulfilment.

Applications from all over the world for the 8^th edition of the Standards of Care were received and reviewed by the WPATH board in June 2017. The announcement of the two co-chairs (Dr Asa Radix, based at New York University and Prof Jon Arcelus) were made on 19 July 2017. The chair of SOC is Prof Eli Coleman from the University of Minnesota.   

Professor Jon Arcelus said: “I am honored to have been elected as a Co-Chair of the SOC. This is the first time that a non-American has been elected as Co-Chair. I hope that I can help to develop guidance for health services, to continue to ensure that trans identities are no longer considered mental health conditions, and to ensure transgender people have fair access to services based on the best available evidence”

The standards of care for transgender people are developed every 5-8 years. They are the Worldwide guidelines for all the clinics looking after transgender people in the world.

The assistance the SOC provides may include primary care, gynecologic and urologic care, reproductive options, voice and communication therapy, mental health services (e.g., assessment, counselling, psychotherapy), and hormonal and surgical treatments. While this is primarily a document for health professionals, the SOC may also be used by individuals, their families, and social organisations to understand how they can assist with promoting optimal health for members of this diverse population.