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‘Treat me with respect’: transgender persons’ experiences of encounters with healthcare staff
Author(s) -
Carlström Rebeccah,
Ek Susanna,
Gabrielsson Sebastian
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of caring sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1471-6712
pISSN - 0283-9318
DOI - 10.1111/scs.12876
Subject(s) - transgender , health care , dignity , qualitative research , competence (human resources) , psychology , nursing , health professionals , vulnerability (computing) , medicine , social psychology , sociology , political science , social science , psychoanalysis , law , computer security , computer science
Background Transgender persons face barriers to health care including discrimination and lack of awareness by professionals. This study aimed to describe transgender persons’ experiences of encounters with healthcare staff. Methods Participants were recruited through postings in social media and on websites targeting people identifying as transgender. Through an online form, 21 people identifying as transgender provided written self‐reports. These were analysed using a method for inductive qualitative content analysis. The study was conducted in Sweden in 2018. Results The results describe transgender persons’ experiences and perceptions of encounters with healthcare staff in one theme: treat me with respect, and three main categories: accept me for who I am; treat me according to my needs; and meet me with competence . Conclusions Healthcare professionals can contribute in restoring and upholding transgender people’s trust in health care by accepting their identity and focusing on their healthcare needs while also being informed about transgender people’s needs and realities. A key point in this is recognising transgender person’s vulnerability to violations of dignity in relation to health care.