Experiences and Interactions with the Healthcare System in Transgender and Non-Binary Patients in Austria: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study

Gendernauts in the Cistem - How Do Nonbinary People Handle Social Groups and Gender Minority Stress?

This study explores how nonbinary individuals manage minority stress within the predominantly binary society of Switzerland. Utilizing social identity theory and minority stress theory, along with thematic analysis of focus group interviews with 16 nonbinary individuals and 14 social identity maps, the study found three concentric circles of social groups: circle 1 (family, partners, friends), circle 2 (coworkers, LGBTIQA+ communities), and circle 3 (the public, media, Swiss institutions). Participants primarily felt affirmed and supported by circles 1 and 2. They reported feeling less support from circle 3 and engaged in cautious social monitoring to anticipate potential discrimination. They found discrimination from close social groups (circle 1) more distressing than from emotionally distant ones (circle 2 or 3). Our study also examined strategies employed by nonbinary participants, including monitoring others and their trans-friendliness before coming out, educating others, taking actions to make institutions more inclusive, disengaging from invalidating individuals, groups, or institutions, and searching for affirmative environments. However, these coping strategies often entail significant mental workload and exhaustion. We conclude with participant-generated recommendations to enhance nonbinary inclusion in society, politics, and healthcare. The findings underscore the need for broader societal awareness and support to mitigate minority stress experienced by nonbinary individuals.

What Do We Know About Speech-Language-Hearing Practice in Vocal Care for Transgender People? A Scoping Review

OBJECTIVE

To systematically assess the current state of speech-language-hearing (SLH) practices in health services addressing vocal care for transgender individuals, aiming to identify key themes and gaps in the existing body of knowledge.

METHODS

This scoping review was based on the Joanna Briggs Institute manual and followed the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses-Extension for Scoping Reviews. It was registered with the Open Science Framework Open Source 10.17605/OSF.IO/BUCRG.

RESULTS

Altogether, 1517 studies were found. After excluding duplicates and applying the eligibility criteria, 103 articles were chosen for the review. The studies addressed topics such as vocal training, case/experience reports, barriers to access services, SLH pathologists' and students' perception and knowledge about the transgender voice, evaluation of programs and services, transgender people's perception and knowledge about their own voice and SLH care, acoustic/auditory-perceptual evaluation, protocols, instruments, impacts of voice on quality of life, verbal and nonverbal communication, and hormone therapy and surgeries.

CONCLUSIONS

The summary of the studies reflects the diversity of methods applied in research on transgender people's communication and voice, as well as the variety of topics. Despite the increasing publications on vocal care for transgender people, it is necessary to ensure the dissemination of evidence to support effective practices that recognize and enhance the diversity of this population. Literature data have promising SLH procedures and useful protocols to assess this population. However, they do not clearly indicate what the transgender population actually wants and needs. Furthermore, the study types have not progressed in a coherent order-that is, from preliminary studies to those with more robust methods. Thus, such knowledge may lack consolidation. Many answers to questions in both clinical and academic practices are still not entirely clear. However, it is believed that the advancement of studies will clarify them.

Perceptions, expectations, and recommendations of trans adults on gender-affirming care in France: a qualitative study

Trans people have diverse life experiences which may include gender-affirming care (GAC). GAC positively impacts the quality of life of trans adults. However, they are often met with barriers to care and are particularly vulnerable within the healthcare system. The needs and expectations surrounding GAC may vary between individual patients. This article aims to analyze trans adults' perceptions, expectations, and recommendations on GAC. Twenty-seven semi-structured interviews were conducted by a team of academic and peer researchers; transcribed interviews were then analyzed using a codebook and thematic analysis. Three main themes were identified; the liberating experience of GAC; the uneven distribution of knowledge and power between patients and providers; and the recommended practices in GAC. Additional training and research are necessary to facilitate high-quality care for trans adults accessing GAC.

Trans people perceptions of care received from healthcare professionals - A phenomenological study

Introduction

Trans people have unique health needs and turn to the public health system to meet them. Offering them a more inclusive assistance requires health professionals to know these needs and work on cultural competence. Understanding trans people perceptions of service received will improve therapeutic relationships and the assistance provided to them.

Objective

To understand trans patients experiences with health care and their perception of care rendered by the Andalusian Public Health System.

Design

A qualitative phenomenological study according to Ricoeur's hermeneutic approach.

Methodology

18 in-depth interviews were conducted between January and April 2022 with trans adult users of the Andalusian Public Health System. These interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and analyzed following the steps proposed by Tan. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research was used for writing the study report.

Results

Three themes were generated from trans patients experiences in the Andalusian Public Health System related to the assistance provided to them: 1) Positive and negative feelings during their pass through the public health system, 2) The importance of being able to receive the care they need, and 3) Having the chosen identity in official documents in order to utterly complete their transition.

Conclusion

Care rendered by healthcare professionals to trans people was received as positive in mostly cases. However, trans people think these professionals need more training in order to avoid some behaviors they perceive as discriminatory and which they believe tends to pathologize gender identity. They also require more information about the treatments in particular they are about to receive and they demand to end drug shortages. Administrative procedures to change identity are also problematic. So the healthcare system must undergo some modifications in order to become more inclusive.

Exploring The Transgender Individual's Experience With Healthcare Interactions: A Phenomenological Study

PURPOSE

The purpose of the study was to provide a transgender narrative on healthcare interactions to increase visibility and awareness of transgender-identified issues in accessing care. This study aimed to: (a) examine how transgender individuals perceive and experience interactions with trained healthcare professionals, such as nurses, physicians, and mental health professionals, (b) identify common issues related to transgender individuals' barriers to care, and (c) identify how these barriers affect a transgender individual's ability to access health care.

DESIGN

A phenomenological approach was used.

METHODS

The nine transgender-identified participants received a demographic questionnaire followed by a virtual semi-structured interview. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview data.

FINDINGS

The themes that emerged from the data were (a) challenges with accessing health care, (b) inconsistent healthcare information, and (c) disenfranchised versus empowered experiences.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study not only provided an opportunity for the transgender participants to share their experiences, but also provides educational information for healthcare providers to improve their future interactions with transgender patients.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Identifying the transgender patient with the correct name and pronoun, providing a welcoming and open healthcare environment, and knowing where to locate transgender health resources will improve the transgender patient's healthcare experience.

Societal stigma and mistreatment in healthcare among gender minority people: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Gender minority (GM; individuals whose gender is not aligned with that traditionally associated with the sex that was assigned to them at birth) people have widely reported mistreatment in healthcare settings. Mistreatment is enacted by individuals within society who hold stigmatizing beliefs. However, the relationship between healthcare mistreatment and societal stigma (i.e., the degree to which society disapproves of GM people) is unclear and not measured consistently.

METHODS

We analyzed data from 2,031 GM participants in The Population Research in Identity and Disparities for Equality (PRIDE) Study's 2019 Annual Questionnaire to determine whether societal stigma was associated with participants' past-year reports of mistreatment (defined as denial of healthcare services and/or lower quality care) in medical or mental healthcare settings. We created a proxy measure of societal stigma by incorporating variables validated in existing literature. Participants reported whether they had experienced mistreatment in medical and mental health settings independently.

RESULTS

Healthcare denial and/or lower quality care during the past year was reported by 18.8% of our sample for medical settings and 12.5% for mental health settings. We found no associations between the societal stigma variables and past-year reports of healthcare denial and/or lower quality care in medical or mental healthcare settings.

CONCLUSIONS

Although a high proportion of GM people reported past-year healthcare mistreatment in both medical and mental health settings, mistreatment had no relationship with societal stigma. Factors other than societal stigma may be more important predictors of healthcare mistreatment, such as healthcare workers' knowledge of and attitudes toward GM people. However, other measures of societal stigma, or different types of mistreatment, may show stronger associations. Identifying key factors that contribute to mistreatment can serve as targets for intervention in communities and healthcare settings.

Healthcare provider-delivered healthy eating recommendations among U.S. Hispanic/Latino adults

U.S. Hispanic/Latino adults are at heightened risk for developing diet-related chronic diseases. Healthcare provider recommendations have shown to be effective for promoting health behavior change, but little is known about healthcare provider healthy eating recommendations among Hispanics/Latinos. To investigate the prevalence of and adherence to healthcare provider-delivered healthy eating recommendations among a U.S. sample of Hispanic/Latino adults, participants (N = 798; M = 39.6±15.1 years; 52% Mexican/Mexican American) were recruited via Qualtrics Panels to complete an online survey in January 2018. Most (61%) participants reported having ever received a healthcare provider-delivered dietary recommendation. Higher body mass index (AME = 0.015 [0.009, 0.021]) and having a chronic health condition (AME = 0.484 [0.398, 0.571]) were positively associated with receiving a dietary recommendation while age (AME = -0.004 [-0.007, -0.001]) and English proficiency (AME = -0.086 [-0.154, -0.018]) were negatively associated. Participants reported adhering regularly (49.7%) and sometimes (44.4%) to recommendations. There were no significant associations with patient characteristics and adherence to a healthcare provider-delivered dietary recommendation. Findings inform next steps toward increasing implementation of brief dietary counseling from healthcare providers to support prevention and management of chronic diseases among this under-studied population.

Implementation of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures for Gender-Affirming Care Worldwide: A Systematic Review

Importance

Gender-affirming care is a key clinical area that can benefit from implementation of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). Identifying barriers to and enablers of PROM implementation is needed to develop an evidence-based implementation strategy.

Objective

To identify (1) PROMs previously implemented for gender-affirming care and constructs measured, (2) how patients completed PROMs and how results were reported and used, and (3) barriers to and enablers of PROM implementation.

Evidence Review

In this systematic review, PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Web of Science were searched from inception to October 25, 2021, and updated on December 16, 2022. Gray literature was searched through gray literature database, online search engine, and targeted website searching. Inclusion criteria were (1) original articles of (2) a formally developed PROM or ad hoc instrument administered for gender-affirming care to (3) patients accessing gender-affirming care. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool was used to evaluate quality of included studies. This review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021233080).

Findings

In total, 286 studies were included, representing 85 395 transgender and nonbinary patients from more than 30 countries. A total of 205 different PROMs were used in gender-affirming care. No studies described using an implementation science theory, model, or framework to support PROM deployment. Key barriers to PROM implementation included issues with evidence strength and quality of the PROM, engaging participants, and PROM complexity. Key enablers of PROM implementation included using PROMs validated for gender-affirming care, implementing PROMs able to be deployed online or in person, implementing PROMs that are shorter and reduce patient burden, engaging key stakeholders and participants as part of developing an implementation plan, and organizational climate.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this systematic review of barriers to and enablers of PROM implementation in gender-affirming care, PROM implementation was inconsistent and did not follow evidence-based approaches in implementation science. There was also a lack of patient input in creating implementation strategies, suggesting a need for patient-centered approaches to PROM implementation. Frameworks created from these results can be used to develop evidence-based PROM implementation initiatives for gender-affirming care and have potential generalizability for other clinical areas interested in implementing PROMs.

Caring for transgender populations: A primer for the dermatopathologist

With increasing access to electronic health records, patients may encounter dermatopathology reports more readily. Dermatopathologists should consider their impact and interactions with transgender patients, who may face specific health and healthcare inequities. Rendering accurate diagnosis for skin diseases requires accurate information about patient's sex assigned at birth and gender identity. Understanding how sex and gender identity data flow between electronic health records, laboratory information systems, insurance billing systems, and patients will be important to avoid patient misgendering, to render accurate diagnoses, to maintain consistency in dermatopathology reports, and to avoid insurance billing denials. Dermatopathologists have important roles to build patient trust in the healthcare system and to help dermatologists diagnose, treat, and characterize skin diseases in transgender populations.

Health and service utilization among a sample of gender-diverse youth of color: the TRUTH study

BACKGROUND

While there is growing research considering the experiences of transgender youth whose identities align with the gender binary, especially among young trans women, there are significantly fewer studies that accurately capture data about nonbinary youth, and even fewer studies capturing the experiences of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth of color. The purpose of this research was to assess the prevalence of sexual health behaviors, mental health challenges, substance use, and healthcare utilization among Black/African American, Latinx, Asian/Pacific Islander, indigenous and multi-racial/ethnic TGD youth, who have been largely underrepresented in research.

METHODS

A total of 108 TGD youth ages 16-24 were recruited into the Trans Youth of Color Study (TRUTH). Each participant completed a 90-min survey administered by a research assistant with more sensitive information collected using ACASI. In addition to a completing a survey administered by research staff, participants also participated in specimen collection, which included urine sampling to assess recent substance use without a prescription, self-collected rectal/frontal and throat swabs to test for gonorrhea and chlamydia, and a blood draw to test for recent use of drugs, gonorrhea and chlamydia, and syphilis. The sample was recruited at public venues, community outreach and referral, through social media outreach, and via participant referral. Cross-sectional analyses were from a single study visit.

RESULTS

Compared to rates among their cisgender peers, participants reported experiencing adverse social and structural determinants of health-e.g. food insecurity (61%), housing instability (30%), and limited access to healthcare (26% had no place to go for healthcare)-and elevated rates of illicit drug use (19-85%), mental health problems (e.g. 60% self-reported depression), and involvement in sexual risk-related behaviors (e.g. among those reporting penetrative sex 57-67% reported sex without a condom).

CONCLUSIONS

This study adds descriptions of both mental and sexual health outcomes of a non-clinical sample of TGD youth to the literature, particularly among young transgender men and gender nonbinary youth, who have frequently been excluded from previous studies of sexual health. The findings document experiences and behaviors among TGD youth that contribute to mental and sexual health concerns, including rates of substance use, and healthcare utilization.

Caring for Transgender People in Healthcare: A Qualitative Study with Hospital Staff in Croatia

Transgender and gender-diverse people have greater health risks due to increased social stress and face a disadvantaged position in the healthcare system as a result of the stigma associated with their gender identity. Due to the lack of research in Croatia on the position of transgender people in the healthcare system, this research was intended to supplement the knowledge about the experiences of hospital staff in the Croatian healthcare system when caring for patients with transgender identities. Qualitative research was conducted using an interview method. The participants (n = 10) were healthcare managers or hospital care team members. The collected data were processed through thematic analysis. The results show that some participants had had no encounters with transgender patients and those who had described them as unproblematic or had only encountered them at a level of basic healthcare. They also described how they perceive transgender people and their life circumstances. The participants described how they envision potential encounters with this group of patients and what they consider necessary to improve the position of this group within the healthcare system. In the discussion part of the article, we assess the need for additional training regarding hospital staff, especially in terms of diversity competence, and for an increase in the visibility of transgender patients.

Usability of Virtual Visits for the Routine Clinical Care of Trans Youth during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Youth and Caregiver Perspectives

We evaluated families' perspectives on the usability of virtual visits for routine gender care for trans youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey, which included a validated telehealth usability questionnaire, was sent to families who had a virtual Gender Clinic visit between March and August 2020. A total of 87 participants completed the survey (28 trans youth, 59 caregivers). Overall, usability was rated highly, with mean scores between "quite a bit" and "completely" in all categories (usefulness, ease of use, interface and interaction quality, reliability, and satisfaction). Caregivers reported higher usability scores compared to trans youth [mean (SD) 3.43 (0.80) vs. 3.12 (0.93), p = 0.01]. All families felt that virtual visits provided for their healthcare needs. A total of 100% of youth and caregivers described virtual appointments as safer or as safe as in-person visits. A total of 94% of participants would like virtual visits after the pandemic; families would choose a mean of two virtual and one yearly in-person visit with a multidisciplinary team. Overall, virtual gender visits for trans youth had impressive usability. Participants perceived virtual visits to be safe. For the future, a combination of virtual and in-person multidisciplinary visits is the most desired model.

Transgenders are the most vulnerable amongst individuals engaging in receptive anal intercourse: A cross-sectional study from North India

Background:

In India, sexuality not confirming to hetero-conjugal and peno-vaginal norm is abhorred and discriminated against. Individuals engaging in Receptive Anal Intercourse (RAI) are marginalized. Reappraisal of their sexual health conditions is likely to promote inclusive health care.

Methods:

Eighty-five consenting adults with RAI history were recruited from a tertiary care hospital in Delhi. Clinico-demographic data was noted and anal cytology samples were reported by Bethesda 2014 terminology.

Results:

There were 29 transgenders (TGs), 51 males (31 bisexual) and five females. Fifty-four subjects were Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infected (22 TGs, 31 males (17 bisexual) and one female) and 52 were receiving anti-retroviral treatment (ART). Thirty-one subjects had anal warts (6 TGs, 20 males, five females). Anal cytology revealed squamous intra-epithelial lesions (SIL) in 20 (5 TGs, 13 males, two females). TGs had significantly risker sexual practices than homosexual males, bisexual males and females, with consistently earlier age of first RAI exposure and frequent childhood (≤16 years) RAI experience compared to homosexual males, bisexual males and females, even after stratification by HIV status, warts and SIL.

Conclusions:

TGs had the highest sexual health risk profile including higher frequency of HIV infection compared to other subjects with RAI history. Bisexuality was common; their risk profile was variably lower than homosexual males. Mindfulness of above is likely to help overcome barriers to health care access and promote compassionate approach at all levels including primary care physicians.