It has been found that people who identify as transgender, intersex, gender non-conforming, or gender diverse have exacerbated health disparities compared to other people. These disparities include physical and mental health issues, the development of which is brough about by a high level of stress, stigma and incomprehension these people come across. Research shows that transgender people suffer from a higher HIV or AIDS rates as well as cardiovascular diseases that often lead to disabilities (Lee et al., 2020). Moreover, transgender patients experience more stress-related health conditions such as depression and anxiety issues. Often, their mental state leads to risky behaviors which, in themselves, foster the transmission of deceases such as hepatitis, AIDS and some others.
At the same time, this group of patients has difficulties getting adequate healthcare; the level of mistreatment or non-treatment in this group is relatively high. To remedy the situation, certain measures should be taken to ensure equitable access to healthcare of this group. First of all, nondiscrimination legal protections should be established at all levels. Secondly, doctors’ and nurses’ cultural competences about transgender people should be improved as research show that they often lack basic knowledge of peculiarities of such people (Lee at al., 2020). Using wrong pronouns, not caring how a person identifies herself or himself, medical workers often offend patients who really need their help. The practices of stigmatized or unsupportive care must be banned.
Moreover, educational programs for the staff should be implemented to improve their awareness of transgender people needs, and clinical standards that feature the needs of this group of patients must be adopted. As a healthcare professional, I believe I can practice allyship with this group by using neutral language, avoiding the use of personal pronouns and taking into account how a patient identifies himself or herself. Showing respectful and supportive attitude to this group of people I believe I can make a contribution to providing high-quality care for this patient group.
Reference
Lee, H., Operario, D., van den Berg, J. J., Yi, H., Choo, S., & Kim, S. S. (2020). Health disparities among transgender adults in South Korea. Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health, 32(2-3), 103-110.