Past reports have found high levels of postponing medical care in transgender and non-gender-conforming people, owing to experiences including refusal of care, harassment and violence in medical settings, and lack of provider knowledge. A 2011 committee opinion from the American Colleges of Obstetricians and Gynecologists called the consequences of inadequate treatment among this population "staggering."
Now, Canadian research on an Ontario transgender population shows levels of emergency-room avoidance by trans people. Published online in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, the study (subscription required) examined data from surveys in 408 transgender, transsexual, or transitioned people, many of them young (16-24 years); approximately half were male-to-female and half were female-to-male.
As described in a release:
"Patients who have had trans-specific negative experiences in other parts of the health care system may defer care until they are desperate and need the ER," said lead study author Greta Bauer, PhD, MPH, of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry in London, Ontario, Canada. "The good news is that nearly three-quarters of those who needed emergency care were able to get it in the ER. The bad news is that so many still were not."
Almost one-quarter (21 percent) of trans patients reported ever avoiding the ER due to a perception that their trans status would negatively affect such an encounter. Negative experiences specifically related to being transgender were reported by 52 percent of trans patients.
Approximately 54 percent of trans patients reported having to educate their providers "some" or "a lot" regarding trans issues.
Bauer and her colleagues noted in the paper that their work "represents a first contribution on trans experiences within emergency medicine." More research is needed, they said, "to better understand reasons for ED avoidance and to develop strategies to overcome this."
Previously: Documentary on LGBT veterans’ PTSD, trauma and recovery premieres tomorrow, Distinction with a difference: Transgender neurobiologist picked for National Academy of Science membership, A call for more training on LGBT health issues and Affordable Care Act prohibits discrimination against transgender patients
Photo by robnguyen01
