Frequently Asked Questions

Some members of our research team undertook the first big survey of trans health in Canada—the Trans PULSE survey in Ontario in 2009-2010. Results were produced into reports, e-bulletins, and academic papers that provided a foundation for policy change in Canada.

Trans PULSE Canada grew out of three concerns. First, while the original Trans PULSE Project published data on trans youth, Indigenous gender-diverse people, and trans people of colour, we often had a small sample size for these targeted analyses and couldn’t do all of the analyses that were important to community members. Second, there are still whole provinces and territories without any source of all-ages data on trans and non-binary people. Third, It’s been a decade since we started collecting Trans PULSE data in Ontario, and so much has changed. Our earlier results have been part of changes to identity documents, human rights, and protection of youth, but these and other changes also make the data outdated. So, Trans PULSE Canada was born.

The Trans PULSE Canada team is a large group of community and academic researchers from across Canada. The majority of team members are themselves trans and others are family and allies. Together we bring more than 180 person-years of experience on more than 80 community-based research studies, many of them in trans health, as well as years of experience working on trans and non-binary advocacy.

Your data will be stored on REDCap (a secure web application for surveys and databases) on servers at Western University in London, Ontario. The research database will not contain names, addresses, contact information, dates of birth, or any other personal identifiers. Only members of the project’s Data Analysis Working Group will have access to the data to do statistical analysis, and data will be encrypted and stored according to processes approved by universities’ Research Ethics Boards. If you provide contact information for future follow-up studies, this information will be stored separately at Western University, and not shared with other team members.

We are committed to keeping your data private. Even in the worst case, a court challenge asking for your data, we will go to court to protect your data. How do we know this? Because we are one of the very few groups in Canada that have actually had to do this.

A lot! Because we don’t have all-ages national data on trans and non-binary communities, people wanted much more than is even in the final survey. It includes questions on health and well-being, gender-affirming care, access to primary and emergency health care, social support, gender positivity and distress, identity documents, etc. There are also some questions that are asked just of participants who are part of priority populations (e.g. sex workers, Indigenous gender-diverse persons, non-binary people) because they are designed to inform policy and practice. Some survey questions were written by community members, some are standard measures (e.g. for social support) that can be compared with other studies, and some are from Statistics Canada and other surveys, so we can compare results or better interpret their findings.

Questions in the survey are there for the following reasons:

• Questions from the Trans PULSE 2009-2010 survey so we can look at changes over time
• Core questions on health and health care, primarily using survey measures that have been used in many other studies, so we can compare to look at inequalities
• Questions requested by the nine Priority Population Consultation Teams (PPCTs) that were identified as key data needs for each group (e.g., access to ceremony for the Indigenous PPCT, long-term care expectations for the Elder PPCT)
• Questions we had to develop to capture new concepts that haven’t been included in other research (e.g., “identity siloing”, as requested by the Racialized PPCT)
• Questions identified by government and policy makers as essential to changing federal or provincial policies (e.g., on immigration, employment)
• Economic questions recommended by colleagues at the Gender and the Economy Centre at the University of Toronto, for comparison with other economic data
• New sex and gender items from Statistics Canada and other sources, so we see who answers these in different ways and better understand their findings

This is our census. Unlike Trans PULSE (Ontario), it is a national survey. Also, recruitment is not through respondent-driven sampling (through social networks); rather, the survey is open to everyone right away. The study has a special focus on nine priority populations, with survey questions added to examine inequalities for these groups as well as addressing issues that are specific to each group. The team also includes an Indigenous Leadership Group that is working with the Indigenous PPCT to develop a follow-up study using Indigenous and decolonizing methods. The developmental phase of that future study is nested within this current project. Like Trans PULSE (Ontario), you can complete the survey online, on paper, or on telephone (with or without a language interpreter). Since it is a national survey, we will also have Peer Research Associates located in the largest cities and online to assist in getting the survey to the broadest group of people possible.

Absolutely! Non-binary people are one of nine priority populations [hyperlink] in Trans PULSE Canada, because we have many information needs (e.g. how to support non-binary people in accessing affirming identity documents), and very little data.

The study has a special focus on nine priority populations, with survey questions added to examine inequalities for these groups as well as addressing issues that are specific to each group. These questions were identified or developed by Priority Population Consultation Teams (PPCTs), which were structured differently depending on the needs of each population. The team also includes an Indigenous Leadership Group that is working with the Indigenous PPCT to develop a follow-up study using Indigenous and decolonizing methods. The developmental phase of that future study is nested within this current project. We have worked to make survey completion as accessible as possible and will try and meet any additional requests for different formats or assistance. While the survey document is in English and French, we can arrange for voice or video call interpretation to complete the survey. Promotional materials are designed in nine languages. Project results will be available on our bilingual website, with translation into additional languages as needed.

Trans PULSE Canada is a large community-based research study. Major decisions on project direction and policy are made by a Steering Committee that must be majority trans. The project has nine priority populations for which additional questions have been added to the survey in order to better inform policy or practice changes and provide information that group needs. As a group, we are committed to ensuring that results are returned first to trans and non-binary people and focus on the data most needed to improve health and well-being.

Community-based research (CBR) is a well-established framework. We believe that ideas of research ‘objectivity’ that require researchers to be distant from the groups they are researching are outdated. In fact, the validity of our research depends on people in trans and non-binary communities being willing to participate and to answer questions, a situation that would be unlikely outside the context of CBR. In addition to increasing the validity of our work, having a study that is community-controlled allows us to ask questions that people outside of community would not even know to ask. Our team has always been committed to asking well-formulated research questions and reporting all of the findings. We do ensure that difficult findings are reported and interpreted within their social context.

Anyone can participate if they are aged 14 or over, their gender identity differs from what they were assigned at birth, and they live in Canada. The survey is in English and French, but can be done over the phone with language interpretation in any language we can arrange.

Yes, but it’s totally optional. You can participate anonymously, or you can provide contact information at the end of the survey if you’re willing to be contacted with opportunities to participate in future research. Here are some projects under development for follow-up studies:

• Our Indigenous Leadership Group is planning a follow-up study using Indigenous and decolonizing methodologies
• Team members are discussing a more general one-year follow-up
• Other teams of trans and cis researchers are designing potential follow-ups for their province (e.g., Saskatchewan, BC)
• Other teams may follow up on particular issues (e.g., employment, blood donation)

Whether or not you choose to provide information for recontact is up to you, but we will never share your information. We will contact you on behalf of other groups, and you can choose whether you want to contact them.

Yes you can! The paper version can be completed at your own pace. If you’ve scheduled to do it (via phone with or without a language interpreter) or with a Peer Research Associate, you can even pre-arrange to do it in multiple sessions if you know this is something you will need. For the online version, you can save your survey and come back to finish it at any time until the end of the summer when the survey closes.

The survey takes approximately 70 minutes, though total time will depend on whether you can skip certain sections. The short form option takes approximately 10 minutes, and is the same for everyone.

Yes you can. If you do not want to be contacted for follow-up or related studies, you do not have to provide your name or contact information. Even if you agree to be contacted again, your information is kept confidential.

Yes! We can arrange a language interpreter in almost any language for voice or video call with you and one of our Peer Research Associates or our Project Coordinator. Just e-mail us at (in any language) and we can get that scheduled for you.

There is no honorarium for completing the survey. This is our community census, and we want to have thousands of people participate. We don’t want to have to cut off participation when funding runs out. If you aren’t able to take the long-form survey, we invite you to take the 10-minute short form.

Data are stored securely on REDCap servers at Western University. Your original data will only be accessed by members of the project’s Data Analysis Working Group for statistical analysis. When information is shared, your data will always be combined with those of others. If you share contact information for future studies, this information will be stored in a separate secure database.

You can complete the survey (full survey or short form) online, or you can e-mail or call toll-free at to request a paper copy or arrange a time to do a telephone interview (with or without a language interpreter).

If you would like, you can contact a Peer Research Associate working in your city or online.

If there is anything else you need in order to participate, please ask!