InTraHealth
The InTraHealth project created a knowledge portal and interactive web platform to raise awareness among professionals about providing appropriate healthcare to intersex and transgender individuals.
InTraHealth Logo
(Image: InTraHealth 2025)
Society largely holds the view that a person's gender is clearly defined and unchangeable. According to this view, a person is either male or female, and it is assumed that this gender is determined at birth and cannot be changed. The structures of the German healthcare system are also partly based on this binary understanding of gender.
However, there are people with physical characteristics that cannot be clearly assigned to the category “male” or “female.” This form of gender diversity is summarized under terms such as intersexuality, intersex, variants of sex development, or inter*. The corresponding characteristics can be genetic, hormonal, or anatomical in nature. In addition, there are people whose gender identity does not correspond to the sex assigned at birth—including transgender or non-binary people who identify as trans*, transident, or transsexual, for example.
Both inter* and trans people experience not only social exclusion but also structural disadvantage—for example, in the form of limited access to resources, recognition, and security. These disadvantages can have long-term health effects. Studies from English-speaking countries show that many of these people do not receive adequate care in the healthcare system and experience discrimination in medical facilities such as doctors' offices or hospitals.
In German-speaking countries, there has been little research to date on how inter* and trans people experience general healthcare. This includes preventive examinations, treatments for healing or rehabilitation, as well as aftercare and palliative care services. No relevant data from Germany, Austria, or Switzerland is available at this time.
At a Glance
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Research project | InTraHealth |
| Management | Prof. Dr. Gabriele Dennert |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Applied Social Sciences Faculty of Cultural Studies Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering |
| Institute | Applied social sciences |
| Persons involved | DITES - Collaborators: Prof. Dr. Petra Werner, Prof. Dr. Christian Kohls |
| Partners | Dortmund University of Applied Sciences, BMG Measures to reduce discrimination against people with differences of sex development (DSD) and transgender people in the healthcare system |
| Sponsors | Federal Ministry of Health - BMG |
| Duration | 01.09.2019 – 28.02.2023 |
Project objectives and results
InTraHealth has been completed.
The project aimed to reduce discrimination and psychosocial stress experienced by inter* and trans persons in the healthcare system and to improve access to needs-based care. To this end, it examined the current care situation, needs, and experiences of inter* and trans persons using a nationwide online survey and problem-centered interviews as part of the InTraStudy. These surveys have now been completed. In addition, the project analyzed what knowledge professionals need in order to be able to work in a gender-sensitive manner.
The project focused on the development of an interactive, web-based training platform for healthcare professionals, which was made freely available online after the end of the project.
In addition, the content of the LSBTI² knowledge portal has been continuously expanded to include information on the health of inter* and trans people.