"It became easier once I knew": Stakeholder perspectives for educating children and teenagers about their difference of sex development.
Erica M Weidler, Kristina I Suorsa-Johnson, Alison S Baskin and 6 others
PMID 37087875WHAT IT FOUND
Stakeholders agreed children and teenagers with differences of sex development should receive honest, age-appropriate education over repeated visits.
Parents, providers and mental health staff may share the work, but participants gave no specific scripts, ages or tested approaches.
Key findings
01Stakeholders generally agreed that children and teenagers with DSD should be educated about their condition and care.
02Participants recommended gradual, developmentally appropriate education.
03Participants did not identify a specific age or detailed method for starting education.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study reports stakeholder perspectives and recommendations, not outcomes from a tested education intervention. It did not provide specific scripts, detailed age-by-age guidance, or evidence about which education approach works best. Teenagers and adults with Klinefelter or Turner syndrome were excluded unless urogenital atypicality was also present, so some DSD groups are not represented. Participants were recruited from three US pediatric centers and advocacy or professional networks, so views may not apply to all settings.
Declared interests
The article is labelled as supported by NIH extramural funding. No author conflict-of-interest declaration is included.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these stakeholder views as evidence that a particular education approach improves DSD outcomes. The study reports what participants recommended, not tested interventions or measured patient outcomes, and it did not specify ages or scripts.