| Popis: |
Medical professionals are not adequately trained in transgender issues or transgender care. In addition, transgender individuals report discriminatory experiences when interacting with medical professionals, including verbal harassment, physical and sexual abuse, and denial of care, even in emergency situations. Some transgender people report avoiding necessary health visits to avoid these experiences. The minority stress model posits that experiences with discrimination and prejudice are an additional burden on minority individuals, including transgender people, and can result in poor health outcomes. However, no previous research has explored potential health consequences of experiencing transgender discrimination in health care settings or possible protective factors against negative outcomes. This project is focused on exploring discriminatory experiences in transgender health care and associated health impairments. An additional aim is to investigate potential protective factors against impairments in functioning, such as perceived health competence and social support. A sample of 102 individuals over the age of 18 who self-identified as transgender were administered an online survey containing measures of health care discrimination, health-related functioning, social support, perceived health competence, and demographic characteristics. Results revealed that experiences with discrimination in health care settings are common for transgender people and experiencing more transgender discrimination in health care settings is associated with poorer health-related functioning. Additionally, higher levels of education and perceived health competence are associated with higher levels of functioning. These findings indicate that interventions are required to reduce transgender discrimination in health care settings. Additionally, improving perceived health competence among transgender individuals may be protective against impairments in health-related functioning. |
