Health and health care access in the US transgender population health (TransPop) survey

Abstract

Background: Probability and nonprobability-based studies of US transgender persons identify different disparities in health and health care access. Objectives:We used TransPop, the first US national probability survey of transgender persons, to describe and compare measures of health and health access among transgender, nonbinary, and cisgender participants. We directly compared the results with 2015 US Transgender Survey (USTS) data and with previously published analyses from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).Methods: All participants were screened by Gallup Inc., which recruited a probability sample of US adults. Transgender people were identified using a two-step screening process. Eligible participants completed self-administered questionnaires (transgender n = 274, cisgender n = 1162). We obtained weighted proportions/means, then tested for differences between gender groups. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate associations. Bivariate analyses were conducted using the weighted USTS data set for shared variables in USTS and TransPop.Results: Transgender participants were younger and more racially diverse compared to the cisgender group. Despite equally high insurance coverage, transgender people more often avoided care due to cost concerns. Nonbinary persons were less likely to access transgender-related health care providers/clinics than transgender men and women. Transgender respondents more often rated their health as fair/poor, with more frequently occuring poor physical and mental health days compared to cisgender participants. Health conditions including HIV, emphysema, and ulcer were higher among transgender people. TransPop and USTS, unlike BRFSS-based analyses, showed no differences in health or health access.Discussion: Transgender persons experience health access disparities centered on avoidance of care due to cost beyond insured status. Health disparities correspond with models of minority stress, with nonbinary persons having distinct health/health access patterns. Despite different sampling methods, USTS and TransPop appear more similar than BRFSS studies regarding health/health access.

It’s Time to Consider LGBTQ-Affirmative Psychology in Malaysia

“…For instance, a national probability survey of transgender people reported a higher percentage of young people identifying as nonbinary (including genderfluid and genderqueer) and those of older age groups were more likely to use binary transgender identities (trans man and trans woman). 19 Therefore, a narrow conceptualization of sexuality and gender, especially from a cisheterosexist perspective, is likely to lose its applicability over the years. It is not uncommon to come across victim-blaming narratives around LGBTQ people in Malaysia.…”

The growing and interdisciplinary field of transgender health

“…From a medical standpoint, Feldman et al describe and compare measures of health and health access among TGD and cisgender adults from the first national probability survey of its kind in the United States called TransPop. 8 They found that despite equally high insurance coverage, TGD people more often avoided care due to cost. As compared to cisgender respondents, TGD respondents were more likely to rate their health as fair/poor and have more poor physical and mental health days.…”

“…From a medical standpoint, Feldman et al. describe and compare measures of health and health access among TGD and cisgender adults from the first national probability survey of its kind in the United States called TransPop 8 . They found that despite equally high insurance coverage, TGD people more often avoided care due to cost.…”

The Use of Photovoice Methodology to Assess Health Needs and Identify Opportunities Among Migrant Transgender Women in the U.S.-Mexico Border

“…A growing body of literature has started to document the growing health disparities and inequities impacting transgender women of color (TWC) ( 1 – 5 ). TWC encounter structural barriers related to having appropriate access to health care, limited opportunities to a formal employment, structural violence, victimization, discrimination, migration, and housing instability ( 6 – 10 ). In particular, migration is a public health concern affecting TWC in the U.S.-Mexico border region.…”