Improving transgender health by building safe clinical environments that promote existing resilience: Results from a qualitative analysis of providers

BMC Pediatrics

Lenny López³  Joseph R. Betancourt²  Aswita Tan-McGrory²  Karey Kenst²  Megan Renfrew¹  Carlos G. Torres⁴ 

[1] Partners HealthCare, Boston, Massachusetts, USA;Disparities Solutions Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA;Mongan Institute for Health Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital, 50 Staniford St, Suite 901, Boston 02114, Massachusetts, USA;Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

关键词: Resilience;    Health disparities;    Transgender youth;    LGBT youth;    LGBT health;    Transgender health;   

Others  :  1234528
DOI  :  10.1186/s12887-015-0505-6

 received in 2015-03-30, accepted in 2015-11-13,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Background

Transgender (TG) individuals experience discordance between their sex at birth and their gender identity. To better understand the health care needs and characteristics of TG youth that contribute to resilience, we conducted a qualitative study with clinical and non-clinical providers.

Methods

In-depth interviews were conducted of providers (n = 11) of TG youth (ages 13–21). Convenience and purposive sampling were used to recruit participants in the Boston area. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. An interview guide of 14 open-ended questions was used to guide the discussion. A grounded theory approach was utilized to code and analyze the data, including double-coding to address issues of inter-rater reliability.

Results

Five primary themes emerged: 1) resilience of TG youth 2) lack of access to services that influence health, 3) the critical role of social support, 4) challenges in navigating the health care system, and 5) the need for trans-affirming competency training for providers and frontline staff.

Conclusion

The findings of this study show that providers recognize multiple barriers and challenges in the care of TG youth. However, they also identify the resilience exhibited by many youth. We propose that providers can further enhance the resilience of TG youth and help them flourish by offering them necessary resources via the creation of safe and welcoming clinical environments.

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Torres et al.

【 图 表 】

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