Healthcare

As many of you know, I am attending University of Connecticut School of Social Work for my masters and one of the areas we cover is the effects of discrimination on a marginalized community. Some of the effects are high unemployment, homelessness, high drug and alcohol use, high suicide rates and includes that lack of or poor healthcare. The results of a study on healthcare in the trans-community were released last month and it sadly confirms what we learned in class.

National Transgender Discrimination Survey Report on health and health care
Findings of a Study by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

By Jaime M. Grant, Ph.D., Lisa A. Mottet, J.D., and Justin Tanis, D.Min.

With Jody L. Herman, Ph.D., Jack Harrison, and Mara Keisling
October 2010

KEY HEALTH CARE FINDINGS

• Survey participants reported very high levels of postponing medical care when sick or injured due to discrimination (28%) or inability to afford it (48%);
• Respondents faced significant hurdles to accessing health care, including:

Refusal of care: 19% of our sample reported being refused care due to their transgender or gender non-conforming status, with even higher numbers among people of color in the survey;

Harassment and violence in medical settings: 28% of respondents were subjected to harassment in medical settings and 2% were victims of violence in doctor’s offices;

Lack of provider knowledge: 50% of the sample reported having to teach their medical providers about transgender care;

• Despite the barriers, the majority of survey participants have accessed some form of transition-related medical care; the majority reported wanting to have surgery but have not had any surgeries yet;
• If medical providers were aware of the patient’s transgender status, the likelihood of that person experiencing discrimination increased;
• Respondents reported over four times the national average of HIV infection, 2.64% in our sample compared to .6% in the general population, with rates for transgender women at 3.76%, and with those who are unemployed (4.67%) or who have engaged in sex work (15.32%) even higher;
• Over a quarter of the respondents misused drugs or alcohol specifically to cope with the discrimination they faced due to their gender identity or expression;
• A staggering 41% of respondents reported attempting suicide compared to 1.6% of the general population, with unemployment, low income, and sexual and physical assault raising the risk factors significantly.

Before I transitioned, I know I didn’t go to the doctors when I had a high fever because I feared what they would say when they saw my shaved body. I use to plan my annual physical for September because I could let my body hair grow out over the summer. I then would shave my body after I saw the doctor and one year my doctor wanted me to see a specialist for some test that you normally take when you get older. It turned out that I couldn’t see him until after Fantasia Fair (a transgender conference that is held every year in Provincetown MA.) but if I wanted to shave my body before I went that would mean I would be seen with my body shaved. I worried over it but in the end, I shaved. When I went to the specialist, his nurse inquired on my shaved body and I told her I was a crossdresser. Even now I still worry about how I will be treated when I go back for the same test again and I worry about going for a mammogram.

I have a friend who fell on ice one winter and at the hospital when they were cutting away her clothes they found out that she was Trans, they stopped and walked away. She could hear them talking about her and calling her “it”. They came back and told her to go home and tale two aspirin. The next day she went to her doctor, he sent her to get a MRI and they found her that her back was broken in three places.

And you wonder why we avoid doctors?