Trans Health

Around the world trans and gender diverse people are marginalized and discriminated against in medical, psychological, and nursing care. This anthology is the first to address the current situation of this population in various global healthcare settings. The perspectives from 11 different countries give insight into the difficult experiences of the trans and gender diverse community when seeking healthcare, and how self-organized community structures can help to overcome barriers to often inaccessible public healthcare systems. The majority of contributions are written from a lived trans and gender diverse perspective.

What does it mean for someone to be ‘trans’? What are the implications of this for healthcare provision? Drawing on the findings of an extensive research project, this book addresses urgent challenges and debates in trans health. It interweaves patient voices with social theory and autobiography, offering an innovative look at how shifting language, patient mistrust, waiting lists and professional power shape clinical encounters, and exploring what a better future might look like for trans patients.

At a time when lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals--often referred to under the umbrella acronym LGBT--are becoming more visible in society and more socially acknowledged, clinicians and researchers are faced with incomplete information about their health status. While LGBT populations often are combined as a single entity for research and advocacy purposes, each is a distinct population group with its own specific health needs. Furthermore, the experiences of LGBT individuals are not uniform and are shaped by factors of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographical location, and age, any of which can have an effect on health-related concerns and needs. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People assesses the state of science on the health status of LGBT populations, identifies research gaps and opportunities, and outlines a research agenda for the National Institute of Health. The report examines the health status of these populations in three life stages: childhood and adolescence, early/middle adulthood, and later adulthood. At each life stage, the committee studied mental health, physical health, risks and protective factors, health services, and contextual influences. To advance understanding of the health needs of all LGBT individuals, the report finds that researchers need more data about the demographics of these populations, improved methods for collecting and analyzing data, and an increased participation of sexual and gender minorities in research. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People is a valuable resource for policymakers, federal agencies including the National Institute of Health (NIH), LGBT advocacy groups, clinicians, and service providers.

To remedy means to heal, to cure, to set right, to make reparations. The Remedy invites writers and readers to imagine what we need to create healthy, resilient, and thriving LGBTQ communities. This anthology is a diverse collection of real-life stories from queer and trans people on their own health-care experiences and challenges, from gay men living with HIV who remember the systemic resistance to their health-care needs, to a lesbian couple dealing with the experience of cancer, to young trans people who struggle to find health-care providers who treat them with dignity and respect. The book also includes essays by health-care providers, activists and leaders with something to say about the challenges, politics, and opportunities surrounding LGBTQ health issues. Both exceptionally moving and an incendiary call-to-arms, The Remedy is a must-read for anyone—gay, straight, trans, and otherwise—passionately concerned about the right to proper health care for all. Contributors include Amber Dawn, Sinclair Sexsmith, Francisco Ibanez-Carrasco, Cooper Lee Bombardier, Kara Sievewright, and Kelli Dunham. Zena Sharman is a passionate advocate for queer and trans health. She has over a decade's experience in health research; currently she is Director of Strategy at the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. Zena is also co-editor of Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Gender diversity is now recognised as simply part of human diversity, rather than being pathological. This shift calls for a need for mental health professionals to adapt their practice when working with trans and non-binary people. Written by two clinicians with significant experience in this field, this book provides practical, everyday advice on what to do when seeing gender-diverse people in both inpatient and outpatient settings. It avoids focusing on academic theory or being overly political and, instead, offers straightforward, useful guidance on common issues clinicians may face, such as which ward to accommodate someone on or which name to use when. Topics include common drug interactions, differential diagnoses, complex case formulation, autistic spectrum conditions, the spectrum of sexualities, surgeries, legal and religious matters, forensic assessment, psychotherapy and mental health diagnoses. Fully relevant to contemporary practice, this is a much-needed guide for busy clinicians seeking immediate, practical and authoritative answers.

The number of people coming out as transgender continues to rise, and this book shows healthcare and medical practitioners how to deliver excellent primary and secondary care to gender diverse patients. This guide provides accessible and practical advice on tailoring the social and ethical aspects of practice to the needs of each individual. Beyond setting out how clinical procedures should work for gender reassignment, it explains how to use language and pronouns in a respectful way, provides information on transgender services and resources, and offers insights into the challenges commonly faced by transgender people in both medical and social contexts. Based on cutting edge research and the lived experience of the author as a non-binary person, this is essential reading for all those working to meet the needs of transgender people in healthcare settings.

**Finalist, PROSE Award in Clinical Medicine** A rich examination of the history of trans medicine and current day practice Surfacing in the mid-twentieth century, yet shrouded in social stigma, transgender medicine is now a rapidly growing medical field. In Trans Medicine, stef shuster makes an important intervention in how we understand the development of this field and how it is being used to “treat” gender identity today. Drawing on interviews with medical providers as well as ethnographic and archival research, shuster examines how health professionals approach patients who seek gender-affirming care. From genital reconstructions to hormone injections, the practice of trans medicine charts new medical ground, compelling medical professionals to plan treatments without widescale clinical trials to back them up. Relying on cultural norms and gut instincts to inform their treatment plans, shuster shows how medical providers’ lack of clinical experience and scientific research undermines their ability to interact with patients, craft treatment plans, and make medical decisions. This situation defies how providers are trained to work with patients and creates uncertainty. As providers navigate the developing knowledge surrounding the medical care of trans folk, Trans Medicine offers a rare opportunity to understand how providers make decisions while facing challenges to their expertise and, in the process, have acquired authority not only over clinical outcomes, but over gender itself.

This book examines issues across the lifespan of transgender and nonbinary individuals whilst synthesizing conceptual work, empirical evidence, pedagogical content, educational experiences, and the voices of transgender and nonbinary individuals. It highlights the resilience and resistance of transgender and nonbinary individuals and communities to challenge narratives relying on one-dimensional perspectives of risk and tragic lives. While there is currently unprecedented visibility and increasing support, members of these communities still face shockingly high rates of violence, victimization, unemployment, discrimination, and family rejection. Significant need for services and support coupled with social, clinical, and medical service systems ill-equipped to provide culturally responsive care illustrates the critical need for quality education and training of educators, practitioners, and service providers in best practices of working with members of the transgender and nonbinary community. Organized into six sections: Health Areas of Practice Coming Out and Family Relationships and Sexuality Communities Multiply Marginalized Identities and Populations, this book offers a current, comprehensive, and intersectional guide for students, practitioners, and researchers across a variety of professions, including social work, psychology, public policy, and health care.