Need. Anxiety. Lacking. Uneducated. Alone.
These are just a few of the words that dozens of folks shared last week when we asked them what came to mind when they thought about healthcare for trans and nonbinary Southerners. These words speak to the challenges that trans and nonbinary people face here in the South when it comes to accessing healthcare and working with doctors and office staff, many who aren’t providing the competent care that all people deserve.
They also provide a glimpse into our findings from the Report of the 2018 Southern Trans Health Focus Group Project, which we talked through on January 30, on a special webinar diving into the report with principal investigator Dr. Austin Johnson. If you missed the webinar, no worries! We recorded the full 45-minute session, and you can watch it in its entirety here:
This video is also available in Spanish. Click here to view the webinar in Spanish.
On the webinar, we also talked through what is working well – namely, that trans and nonbinary Southerners have built a strong, supportive community, one where folks lean on each other for education and information. We saw this in some of the other words that people shared: Strength. Resilience. Hope.
The trans community is strong and resilient – and people have been helping each other through what can often be an isolating struggle to simply take care of their basic needs. But we also deserve more: We should be able to trust in our health providers and our healthcare system, no matter our gender identity.
That’s what we’re trying to address through research like this. Check out the webinar above, and click below to read the full Report of the 2018 Southern Trans Health Focus Group Project.
