Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2020
Publication Title
Transgender Health
Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert
Volume
5
Issue
1
First page number:
18
Last page number:
32
Abstract
Purpose: We examined health care experiences of transmasculine young adults to clarify factors contributing to mistrust in the health care system and identify tangible and modifiable means to address health disparities through improved patient-provider interactions. Thematic analysis highlights patterns within historical relationships between medical models and transmasculine embodiment, and provides guidance for health care clinicians, researchers, and policy makers to deliver competent services for transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals. Methods: The study team used qualitative methodology guided by interpretive phenomenological analysis. Semistructured interviews with 12 participants who self-identified as transmasculine were conducted, transcribed, and coded thematically. Results: Participants were a community sample of 12 young adults 18-35 years of age (M=23, standard deviation=3.74), who self-identified as transmasculine. Three participants identified as a racial/ethnic minority. Participants were highly educated, with most completing at least some college. The superordinate thematic domain Perspectives on Health Care emerged, under which three subthemes were nested: (1) an essentialist, binary medical model is inaccurate and oppressive, (2) consequences of medicalizing gender (i.e., gender as a diagnosis), and (3) recommendations to improve health care. Conclusions: Qualitative analysis revealed specific ways in which the relationship between transmasculine individuals and current health care systems are fraught with difficulties, including the impact of stigma, gatekeeping, and inaccuracies, in current diagnostic criteria. Participants shared lived experiences and offered innovative ideas to improve health care delivery, such as challenging socialized biases, increased education, and immersion in TGD communities to advocate for change in research, practice, and policy.
Keywords
Access To Care; Health Disparities; Resilience; Social Determinants Of Health; Transgender Health; Transmasculine Identity
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences | Public Health
File Format
File Size
423 KB
Language
English
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Repository Citation
Lambrou, N. H.,
Cochran, K. M.,
Everhart, S.,
Flatt, J. D.,
Zuelsdorff, M.,
O'Hara, J. B.,
Weinhardt, L.,
Benton, S. F.,
Gleason, C. E.
(2020).
Learning from Transmasculine Experiences with Health Care: Tangible Inlets for Reducing Health Disparities through Patient-Provider Relationships.
Transgender Health, 5(1),
18-32.
Mary Ann Liebert.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2019.0054