Access Barriers
Needs assessments on transgender populations often show them to have notable health challenges. There are well-documented examples discrimination barriers in access to healthcare. For example, the documentary Southern Comfort tells the story of Robert Eads, a transman who was refused treatment for his ovarian cancer by 20 doctors. Trans people also routinely report difficulty with provider education. In one Philly transgender needs assessment, 67% of respondents report having to regularly educate their doctors about trans healthcare.
High HIV/STD Rates in Subpopulations
The transgender populations have gotten attention because research has shown some really high HIV rates, especially among male-to-females. This is in part driven by a high level of survival sex work in this population. But even among sex workers, MTF transgenders stand out, with higher HIV rates than most anyone else. (up to 81% in one Atlanta sex work community). Needless to say, other STDs are really common in this group as well.
Even broad-based community needs assessments consistently show a poor health profile for transgender populations.
Additional Transgender Health Concerns
 | Many needs assessments report high levels of suicidality (in a large SF needs assessment, 32% of trans folk reported past suicide attempts) |
| Many needs assessments report high levels of addictions |
| Black-market hormone or silicone use is common in some subgroups, silicone in particular comes with a host of possible health problems. |
| Needs assessments show an unusually high number of TG people living in poverty (e.g. in a DC needs assessment, 31% of respondents made under $10k a year) |
| And, hand in hand with this, a lot of uninsured folk, and folk with housing problems. |
| Discrimination and violence creates very high stress (e.g. in a Philly needs assessment, 30% of MTF respondents expected to have a shorter than average lifespan. And in a recent national GenderPAC survey, 47% of the respondents had been assaulted.) |
| School harassment is common. In the most recent GLSEN survey 81% of trans students reported being harassed at school. |