Transgender and transsexual (trans) people in the greater Boston area have poor access to quality healthcare, according to a study funded by the Massachusetts Department of Health. The study was presented July 21 at the Gay Men’s Health Summit.
Researchers from the JSI Research and Training Institute in Boston separated over forty participants into four focus groups to discuss their healthcare experiences. The groups were divided among individuals who transitioned from male-to-female (MTF) and female-to-male (FTM), then further broken into age groups, 25 and under and 26 and older. Trans individuals from the community were recruited and trained to run the focus groups, in order to help participants feel more comfortable being candid and expressive.
When asked what they looked for in a healthcare provider, one participant told the researchers, "I’m looking for a doctor who will treat me like a human being with feelings," said Jodi Sperber, the study’s co-author. Unfortunately, this is rarely what trans patients encounter. The study found that physicians frequently refuse to offer healthcare services. Those physicians who do service trans patients often lack the knowledge to handle routine healthcare needs, such as gynecological care, hormone regulation and HIV prevention counseling. In addition, some physicians even refuse to address patients by their pronoun of choice.
FTM youth reported rude and humiliating treatment by receptionists and other staff at doctors’ offices. "I can’t even make it through the front door without staff staring at me, laughing at me or whispering," said one participant, according to the study. All participants in the FTM youth focus group reported feeling unsafe to receive health care, the study found.
Some participants complained that physicians and clinics who serve the LGBT communities assume that trans patients share the same health concerns as gays and lesbians, said Sperber, who attributed this to a lack of provider training. "If you’re going to say you’re serving the LGBT communities, do it. Serve the ‘T,’" Sperber added.
The researchers recommended a standard of care for trans patients at healthcare agencies, sensitivity training for physicians and office staff and healthcare forms that do not restrict gender choices to "male" and "female."
The researchers also called on public policy makers to encourage legislation that would ensure trans patients have equal access to health insurance. Presently, a discrepancy between identified gender and biological gender may subject a health insurance applicant to having his or her insurance revoked.
While thanking the Massachusetts Department of Health for its support, the researchers called for more funding for larger studies of the trans community thoughout the United States. "If there’s a woeful amount of money for lesbian and gay studies, you can imagine how woeful the funding is for transgender studies," said Sperber.
