Break the Barriers to Health Care for Transgender People: Study

New study aims to help clinicians understand the medical issues related to transgender people and break the barriers to health care for them.

Transgender care is quickly evolving, and primary care providers need to understand their roles as physicians and know the medical issues related to transgender people, reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

Joshua Safer, MD, Executive Director of the Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, Senior Faculty in Medicine (Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Bone Disease) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, lead author of the review, and an expert in transgender health care, prepared a comprehensive review identifying the latest evidence available.

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‘It is essential that clinicians understand the medical concerns particularly relevant to transgender people because as education initiatives improve, providers will also become more comfortable caring for gender-minority patients, who with improved access to health care will no longer always need to seek transgender service subspecialists.’
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In the United States, studies estimate that 1.4 million individuals are transgender. Previous research indicates that the biggest barrier to care reported by transgender people is the lack of knowledgeable providers. The challenge of accessing culturally competent care contributes to health disparities experienced by transgender individuals, such as increased rates of cancers, substance abuse, mental health concerns, and chronic diseases.

Recommendations from the review include:

Determining transgender identity by establishing that the patient has persistent gender incongruence
Prescribing and managing hormone therapy with guidance from endocrinologists and awareness of the potential adverse effects of the treatment
Understanding the various surgical options for transgender individuals with consideration of the unique post-operative concerns associated with each
Updating electronic medical records to correctly, safely, and respectfully record relevant medical and social details for transgender individuals
Integrating transgender medical care within relevant specialty training

"It is important that clinicians understand the medical issues specifically relevant to transgender people," Dr. Safer explains.

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"The hope is that, as education initiatives improve, providers will become more comfortable caring for gender-minority patients, who with improved access to care will no longer always need to seek subspecialists in transgender services."

Source-Eurekalert

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