A dramatic fact persists as health care becomes more inclusive: Transgender people continue to face challenges and injustices that prevent access to affordable healthcare.
For those employed in the health sector, the scope of this problem is glaring. When I witnessed physicians, nurses, and support personnel refuse to treat a transgender person while working in the health care system, I was disappointed. The team expressed concern when the service hired a doctor who provides gender-affirming care.
Transgender individuals face many barriers to health care, including social stigma, discrimination, financial issues, social standing, and lack of emotional support from relatives. The lack of health care professionals with expertise in transgender medicine, which leads to a lack of empathy for trans patients, is the most important obstacle to providing adequate wellness care that transgender patients face.
According to scientific books, trans people lack access to culturally competent health care providers. This is in part due to medical schools’ insufficient attention to transgender health, which requires companies to do so through fieldwork.
Some health care professionals claim that because of this, they are concerned about not being able to care for transgender people. They are unable to feel at ease learning about and taking care of trans people because of this. This information gap needs to be filled, and it is obvious.
The lack of female equality in healthcare is a systemic issue with a deep root. Because they use the terms “male” or “female” to refer to gender, individual intake forms are hardly inclusive of transgender and gender non-conforming people. To offer their patients appropriate, attentive care, nurses and support personnel must be aware of transgender identity.
The Royal College of Nursing in Britain developed educational programs that addressed providing care to transgender people while considering their emotional health. Additionally, they made it clear that all health care professionals should use the “they” or “them” pronouns with each patient to promote inclusivity. They also made gender-neutral bathrooms accessible.
Transgender people of color frequently find themselves putting off treatment because of cultural and gender-based discrimination. According to scientific literature, one-fourth of transgender people seeking medical care encountered abuse while receiving or being denied care. Importantly, people of color made up the majority of trans people who reported discrimination.
Gov. In March 2023, Tim Walz signed an executive order enforcing the right to obtain gender-affirming treatment for LGBTQ+ visitors from other states in Minnesota. Families with trans children have sought shelter in Minnesota to acquire this important care as states like North Dakota withdraw the rights of trans minors to receive gender-affirming care.
There is still an obvious need for treatments within health care to combat trans discrimination and prejudice both inside and outside of Minnesota, even as the state continues to support trans access to health care in policy. Through raising awareness and knowledge of transgender identity and treatment, patient treatments have improved health care provider capabilities for transgender people.
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s training program on the Global Education Initiative aims to strengthen the capacity of health care providers in transgender care. This can be assigned to nurses, doctors, and aid staff as a part of their reference materials and continuing education. Educational treatments need to be incorporated into health college education, medical school education, and support personnel training, such as the treatments in Britain.
Different strategies for spreading transgender identity and health can include elective rotations, participatory online education modules, and small group training sessions with transgender people. These kinds of initiatives boost the self-assurance and commitment of transgender healthcare professionals.
Transgender individual panels may also be a great way to combat stigma, as has been demonstrated in colleges that had transgender panel interventions.
After witnessing the owner’s fears regarding the new gender-affirming care at the facility, I spoke with my supervisor. A large portion of the partiality the team had toward trans people was due to a lack of understanding of trans identity. They decided that a two-year course on equality and gender identity might be beneficial.
A city council was held in addition to this to educate the employees about the significance of these surgeries and how to treat these patients in recovery, as well as the management team at the facility and the physician who performs the gender-affirming procedures. It is obvious from these interventions and first-hand experience that the staff is comfortable in providing attentive care to these patients and that there is progress in the right direction.
People in our world are responsible for promoting diversity for people of all gender identities, whether you work in health care or not. Our society is evolving and the health care system must begin to fit its members through advocacy and an empathetic approach to teaching caregivers about transgender identity.
Sophie Iezzi is a student studying biology and psychology at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. She attended Mayo High School and is originally from Rochester. She serves as a CNA at a clinical facility, where she provides care for patients who are receiving gender-affirming care.
