Webcast 02 – Beyond the Borders of Gender and Immigration: Strategies for Transgender Inclusive Integrated Care

Summary

The permeation of the two-gender system in our healthcare system is painful, at best, and life-threatening, at worst. Transgender and nonbinary patients experience serious health injustices and limited healthcare quality and access. Patients tend to delay healthcare utilization due to inadequate insurance coverage and past experiences of microaggressions, discrimination, non-affirming practices, and pressure to de-transition from healthcare providers (Hudson, 2019; James et al., 2016). Such experiences are problematic as these patients often experience worse physical and mental health outcomes compared to cisgender patients (Burgwal et al., 2019; James et al., 2016). In addition, transgender and nonbinary patients have significantly higher rates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts (James et al., 2016). Although negative experiences negatively impact the health outcomes for all transgender patients, patient documentation status creates complexity. Transgender Latinx immigrant patients experience additional unacknowledged stress and risk due to persecution, immigration status, and fear of deportation (Hwahng et al., 2019). Providers’ lack of education on transgender inclusive healthcare practices is associated with discrimination, harm, and poorer health outcomes (Kattari et al., 2020). In this session, presenters will provide foundational concepts for transgender inclusive healthcare to help professionals strengthen their practice. Attendees will learn important terminology regarding transgender inclusive practice in Spanish and English. Next, presenters will discuss the health inequities that transgender patients experience, which will focus on accessible and quality healthcare legislation and policy. Throughout the session, presenters will specifically contextualize the experiences of undocumented Spanish-speaking Latinx transgender patients. To solidify action steps, presenters offer strategies to promote awareness, knowledge, and advocacy with transgender inclusive healthcare.