Our Future Health questionnaire gender questions

[Soontobe60]

Have any of you lot received an invitation from the NHS to take part in a new research programme called Our Future Health?
I signed up today, and had to complete a very extensive online questionnaire. To my utter surprise (haha), the first question asked me what my sex ‘assigned’ at birth was.
Then came along the gender identity questions.
“Do you ID as trans or have a trans history” - so far, so straightforward.
Now a question on who I’m married to - “someone of the same gender”, someone of the opposite gender”. No option to explain that I’m married to someone of the opposite SEX.
As I’ve pointed out to them in my email querying the wording of some questions, questions in a health questionnaire should be sex based, not based on a belief that many respondent, in fact Id go so far to say that MOST respondents, do not hold.

I also emailed them. I was told that "they're reviewing" the questions but they're evidently not. I simply said that as their approach was unscientific from the outset then it would be of limited value to the population. As I'd already completed part of the questionnaire I kept getting sad emails asking me to complete if or formally withdraw from the project.
I ignored them all - won't waste any more time on alleged scientists who prove to be anything but.

I withdrew completely, telling them why - basically MrsOverton's thinking above - that it was unscientific and therefore its results would be useless so it was pointless me taking part.

I’m booked in for some blood tests with them tomorrow - I’m curious, so want to continue.

I began the signing up process. The aims of the organisation seem admirable, and this sort of mass research has worked well, for instance the Zoe project. I started the questionnaire with the section "about your household" which begins with questions about my sex change. Which I haven't had. I decided not to bother going any further and tried to withdraw. In order to withdraw I have to ring an 0808 number. Almost as though this were a hard sell, trying to force something on me.
Apart from its admirable aims and government backing this has many of the hallmarks of a scam.

I work in health care data and life sciences at the moment and wouldn't touch this project with a barge pole. There are all sorts of issues emerging with their storage of personal healthcare data, usage, and links with industry. It has set itself up too fast and missed the basic building blocks before collecting patient data and genomic material. It might improve in a few years time but no one I know through my network would touch it now.

That's interesting. I just worked on the basis that if they were asking toddler type questions about assigned at birth etc, the people working on it probably lacking in scientific / medical knowledge / research skills.
Gender woowoo thinking is turning out to be an accurate prediction of lack of integrity and skills. 😉

Ha I can't comment on that as don't really follow the whole debate. But I was told to review their consent form for a different piece of work where we were benchmarking consent forms for another major national programme being set up. And let's say, the OFH one stuck out as very poorly constructed and very vague.

Yes I agree. The consent form isn’t good enough. Don’t touch this study.

I ignored an invitation to join because of the unscientific method. Begs the question, who’s paying for this? If it’s the NHS, it seems a very poor use of a lot of cash that is badly needed elsewhere
Meanwhile, my daughter has been sucked into a similar program through school. In the end, I didn’t pull her out because I didn’t want her to be made different from her classmates, but again, how is money available for this stuff at the moment? It’s clearly not going to provide useful medical outcomes given the focus on gender

It is funded through UKRI and one of their large strategic funds. They invested circa £76m and have match funding from industry. There is no clarity on how personal data will be shared by these commercial organisations as far as I can tell.

The NHS currently has nothing to do with it. In fact you could provide genetic material, be contacted (should you agree to it) on testing to tell you you have a genetic disorder without a clinician in sight. No genetic counselling, no clinical support.

No one really understands how they got ethical approval, and when I have asked I have yet to get a clear answer.