University of York is a British university which was commissioned to prepare a series of reviews of trans healthcare for minors as part of the 2024 Cass Review. These York Reviews were then used to restrict or ban trans healthcare for minors.
Background
University of York was officially established in 1963 and opened later that year. In 1965, construction began on the purpose-built Heslington campus, and the first colleges, Derwent College and Langwith College, opened that year. During the 1970s and 1980s, the university added new departments, research facilities, and colleges as student numbers grew. By the 1990s, it had established itself as a major research university in the UK. Expansion continued into the 21st century, including the development of the Heslington East campus, which gradually opened during the 2010s.
York Reviews
The systematic evidence reviews often referred to as the “York Reviews” were conducted by researchers at University of York’s Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD). CRD was established in 1994 and specializes in evidence synthesis, particularly systematic reviews and meta-analyses used to inform healthcare policy and clinical decision-making.
The York Reviews were commissioned as part of the wider Cass Review, a report commissioned by the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), created as a pretext to restrict or ban trans healthcare for minors. The review was chaired by the pediatrician Hilary Cass and aimed to assess existing research and clinical practices related to trans healthcare. Cass commissioned the reviews through a competitive tendering process.
Researchers at the CRD conducted seven systematic reviews examining different aspects of transgender healthcare for young people, including the effectiveness and safety of medical treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapies, as well as the quality of clinical guidelines used internationally. These reviews evaluated existing studies, assessed their methodological quality, and summarized the overall strength of the available evidence.
The work was carried out by teams of academic researchers affiliated with the centre, overseen by senior scholars in evidence synthesis, including Lesley Stewart, a professor and director of the CRD. Together, the York Reviews were used by the Cass Review to support its conclusions about the current state of transgender healthcare research for young people.
People
- Lorna Fraser (York profile)
- Ruth Hall (York profile)
- Claire Heathcote (York profile)
- Catherine Elizabeth Hewitt (York profile)
- Stuart William Jarvis (York profile)
- Trilby Langton
- Alex Mitchell (York profile)
- Jo Taylor (York profile)
York Review documents
Editors (2024). Gender Identity Service Series. Archives of Disease in Childhood https://adc.bmj.com/pages/gender-identity-service-series
- Taylor, J., Hall, R., Langton, T., Fraser, L., & Hewitt, C. E. (2024). Care pathways of children and adolescents referred to specialist gender services: a systematic review. Archives of Disease in Childhood https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2023-326760
- Taylor, J., Hall, R., Langton, T., Fraser, L., & Hewitt, C. E. (2024). Characteristics of children and adolescents referred to specialist gender services: a systematic review. Archives of Disease in Childhood https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2023-326681
- Taylor, J., Hall, R., Heathcote, C., Hewitt, C. E. , Langton, T., & Fraser, L. (2024). Clinical guidelines for children and adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria or incongruence: a systematic review of guideline quality (part 1). Archives of Disease in Childhood https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2023-326499
- Taylor, J., Hall, R., Heathcote, C., Hewitt, C. E. , Langton, T., & Fraser, L.(2024). Clinical guidelines for children and adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria or incongruence: a systematic review of recommendations (part 2). Archives of Disease in Childhood https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2023-326500
- Hall, R, Taylor, J., Heathcote, C., Langton, T., Hewitt, C. E. , & Fraser, L. (2024). Gender services for children and adolescents across the EU-15+ countries: an online survey. Archives of Disease in Childhood https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2023-326348
- Hall, R, Taylor, J., Hewitt, C. E. , Heathcote, C., Jarvis, S. W., Langton, T., & Fraser, L. (2024). Impact of social transition in relation to gender for children and adolescents: a systematic review. Archives of Disease in Childhood https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2023-326112
- Taylor, J., Mitchell, A., Hall, R., Heathcote, C., Langton, T., Fraser, L., & Hewitt, C. E. (2024). Interventions to suppress puberty in adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria or incongruence: a systematic review. Archives of Disease in Childhood https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2023-326669
- Taylor, J., Mitchell, A., Hall, R., Langton, T., Fraser, L., & Hewitt, C. E. (2024). Masculinising and feminising hormone interventions for adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria or incongruence: a systematic review. Archives of Disease in Childhood https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2023-326670
- Heathcote, C., Taylor, J., Hall, R, Jarvis, S. W., Langton, T., Hewitt, C. E. , & Fraser, L. (2024). Psychosocial support interventions for children and adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria or incongruence: a systematic review. Archives of Disease in Childhood https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2023-326347
Resources
University of York (york.ac.uk)