Impedance to Transgender Healthcare Chermaine Ramos GRC MSW Program Abstract Data results Transgender individuals are a stigmatized group that experience discrimination in every aspect of their lives creating a social justice issue. It places them at a higher risk for assault, poverty, unemployment, illness, and having a limited access to care. The stigma associated with this population has become embedded in society and institutionalized suggesting where medical professionals are not educated on transgender needs leaving them unprepared to properly care for their patients and unable to be culturally sensitive. This reinforces the power differential between the medical professionals and their patients and increases the transgender communities distrust against the medical field. This indicates medical professionals would be able to better serve this population if education on transgender needs was incorporated in college curriculums and continued in hospital settings. Misgendering patients could also be reduced if medical forms and medical databases were amended to include gender at birth and current gender identity. These changes could improve medical care provided and reduce the stigma associated with this population. This also suggests a strong focus should be placed on needs of the transgender community in social work curriculums to ensure social workers are culturally sensitive to transgender individuals needs and able to advocate appropriately for change. There are some structural differences between the brains of men and women so the focus of study has been on those areas of the brain to understand Gender Dysphoria. “The central bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, which is involved in sexual dimorphism functions, including aggressive conduct, sexual conduct, and the secretion of gonadotropins” (Capetillo-Ventura, Jalil-Perez, Motilla-Negrete, 2014, pg. 54 The stria terminalis in men has twice and many neurons than women and the same applies to transgender individuals. Transgender men were found to have a similar amount of neuronal density as men do and transgender women also have a similar amount to what women have (Capetillo-Ventura, Jalil-Perez, Motilla-Negrete, 2014). The stigmatization of the transgender population can effect every aspect of their lives such as family, employment, shelter, and healthcare. This increases the vulnerability of the transgender population because they have higher rates of poverty and limited access to healthcare. Medical professionals are not properly trained to meet the needs of this population and patients begin to anticipate the doctor is not equipped to help them (Poteat, German, & Kerrigan, 2014). Negative encounters with medical professionals reinforces the power differentials between them and their patients and increases transgender individuals distrust in the provider’s abilities (Poteat, German, & Kerrigan, 2014). 28% of transgender individuals postponed care due to discrimination or being treated with a lack of respect while 33% reported they postponed preventative care for the same reasons (Strousma, 2014), Suggestions Transgender needs should be incorporated in college curriculums and continued in hospital settings to prepare medical professionals to meet their patients needs and reduce Medical forms and medical databases should be amended to include gender at birth and current gender identity to avoid misgendering individuals to ensure patients receive proper care and avoid a misdiagnosis. Definitions The term transgender is used to describe any individual “whose gender identity, gender expression, or behavior does not conform to what is socioculturally accepted as, and typically associated with, the legal and medical sex to which they were assigned at birth” (Stroumsa, 2014, pg. 1). DSM-5 now refers to gender Nonconformity as Gender Dysphoria (Stroumsa, 2014). (https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=nUFNSE%2Fy&id=05621257EC4A C717D8CDEE6BA1D4DAB91550F74C&thid=OIP.nUFNSE_yC9EwBirHclinLQHaF5&mediaurl=http %3A%2F%2Fwhat-when-how.com%2Fwp- content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Ftmp148_thumb_thumb.jpg&exph=480&expw=602&q= stria+terminalis&simid=608046953318125238&selectedindex=11&ajaxhist=0) References