# Peer specialist intervention to reduce disparities in the mental health of  transgender and nonbinary individuals

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2024 · $169,560

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Candidate: Daphna Stroumsa, MD, MPH, MSc, is an obstetrician-gynecologist and early career health
services researcher at the University of Michigan, focused on improving healthcare access and quality for
transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) people. Dr. Stroumsa’s long-term career goal is to become an independent
physician-researcher leading the development and evaluation of interventions to decrease health disparities
affecting gender minorities.
Research Context: TGNB people are a highly marginalized population, with unmet gender-affirming needs
and staggering mental health disparities. There is a critical need for effective interventions that address this
significant burden. Peer support interventions hold immense promise in providing critical gender affirmation
and in countering the effects of stigma on health. It is, however, necessary to understand how best to design
and deploy such interventions to meet the specific needs of this population.
Specific Aims: The overarching goal of this proposal is to adapt and pilot-test a peer support intervention to
decrease mental health disparities among TGNB people. The study’s specific aims are to 1) identify the
desired properties and structure of a peer support intervention for TGNB people accessing gender affirming
hormones (GAH), and how these vary by intersecting gender and racial identities; 2) adapt a peer support
intervention to improve mental health among TGNB people presenting for GAH; and 3) evaluate the feasibility
and acceptability of the intervention for improving TGNB people’s mental health in a clinical setting.
Research Plan: The plan relies on a community-engaged, structured process with 1) interviews with TGNB
people and other stakeholders to identify the desired properties of the intervention, 2) An iterative refinement of
the intervention with expert feedback, and 3) A six-month pilot RCT to assess feasibility and acceptability.
Career Development Plan: To achieve independence, Dr. Stroumsa requires additional training in 1)
Community-engaged research, 2) Adaptation of behavioral interventions for marginalized populations, and 3)
Conducting and evaluating clinical trials. Dr. Stroumsa’s training will be supported by an interdisciplinary team
of NIH-funded mentors. The primary co-mentors, Drs. Paul Pfeiffer and Rob Stephenson, have extensive
mentoring experience and expertise designing and evaluating interventions to improve mental health outcomes
with gender and sexual minorities, respectively. Drs. Amy Schulz and Kristi Gamarel (co-mentors) are experts
in community-based participatory research and peer-delivered behavioral interventions designed with and for
TGBN communities, respectively. The training is further supported by regular feedback from advisors,
advanced didactic coursework, and participation in workshops/seminars. These will enable Dr. Stroumsa’s
seamless transition to becoming an independent researcher, working to improve TGNB people’s health
outcomes by ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10828304
- **Project number:** 5K23MD016950-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Daphna Stroumsa
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $169,560
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-01-17 → 2026-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10828304

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10828304, Peer specialist intervention to reduce disparities in the mental health of  transgender and nonbinary individuals (5K23MD016950-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10828304. Licensed CC0.

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