Due to disproportionate violence impacting the trans community, forensic anthropologists may increasingly encounter the remains of trans and non-binary individuals; however, it is presently unknown how often trans remains are represented in casework and if practitioners have sufficient knowledge about trans personhoods. After contextualizing forensically relevant demographics for the trans community, this study uses anonymous survey data of forensic anthropologists to explore the collective knowledge of and experience working with trans remains; practitioners’ perceptions of sex and gender; and potential opportunities for trans-oriented research in forensic anthropology. The results indicate that 28.9% of respondents have worked with trans remains in casework, but 75.0% of forensic anthropologists were unfamiliar with trans-related surgical procedures. Additionally, the survey indicates that forensic anthropologists struggle with the binary nature of forensic sex estimation, with 42.4% agreeing that sex is binary and 56.2% disagreeing. Similar opposition was found with reporting gender: 39.5% indicated that gender should be reported in casework and 31.0% disagreed. Moreover, current sex estimation methods and reporting are: rigidly binary; not reflective of human biological variation; and inadequate for trans and non-binary individuals. In order to dismantle rigidly binary sex categorization, we propose the adoption of a biocultural and queer theoretical approach to forensic sex estimation and in sexual dimorphism research that challenges heteronormative assumptions, questions typological two-sex categorization, and combats the presumptions that gender and sex are stable, independent entities that convey universal meaning. Relatedly, trans-oriented research, which is supported by 95.8% of respondents, will further improve methodological accuracies. / 2022-02-23T00:00:00Z

Background: Transgendered individuals are a growing minority group in society who generally have poor confidence in health care. They experience shortcomings in the contact with health services that affect the experience of their interaction with health care staff. There is currently limited knowledge about how transgendered individuals wants to be encountered and treated in health care.  Aim: The aim was to study the collective knowledge regarding how transgendered people experience the interaction with health care.  Method: A literature study with a systematic approach where studies were compiled using content analysis according to Evans with an inductive approach. The theoretical framework Fundamentals of Care (FoC) was used throughout the literature study.  Results: Three themes emerged: (1) To be addressed with the right pronoun to be met with insensitivity, tactlessness and open dissatisfaction, (2) To bear responsibility for their care due to lack of knowledge on the part of the caregiver, (3) To feel trust or mistrust in the treatment. Five sub-themes were found: (Ia) from correct address to inappropriate questions and the experience of poorer care when the transidentity was announced. (Ib) Unnecessary physical examination to a reluctance to provide care. (IIa) To meet competent or incompetent caregivers. (IIb)To be responsible for training the caregiver. (IIa) from feeling welcome to not wanting to seek care.  Conclusions: The interaction with health care worries transgender individuals and needs improvement. Normalizing reactions that support rather than condemn are desired in the meeting of health care. The theoretical framework FoC can be used as a guide for person- centered care in the meeting of health care staff with transgendered individuals in the operating room. / Bakgrund: Transpersoner är en ökande minoritetsgrupp i samhället som generellt sätt har ett dåligt förtroende för hälso- och sjukvården. De upplever brister i kontakten med sjukvården som påverkar upplevelsen av bemötandet. Det finns i dagsläget begränsad kunskap om hur transpersoner önskar bli bemötta inom hälso- och sjukvård.  Syfte: Syftet var att studera den samlade kunskapen om hur transpersoner upplever bemötandet med hälso- och sjukvården.  Metod: En litteraturstudie med systematisk ansats där studier sammanställts med innehållsanalys enligt Evans med induktiv ansats. Det teoretiska ramverket Fundamentals of Care (FoC) användes genom litteraturstudien.  Resultat: Tre teman framkom: (1) Att bli tilltalad med rätt pronomen till att mötas med okänslighet, taktlöshet och öppet missnöje, (2) Att bära ansvaret för sin vård på grund av kunskapsbrist hos vårdgivaren (3) Att känna förtroende eller misstro i bemötandet. Fem subteman framkom: (Ia) från korrekt tilltal till olämpliga frågor och upplevelsen av sämre vård när transidentiteten offentliggjordes. (Ib) Onödig fysisk undersökning till en ovilja att ge vård. (IIa) Att möta kompetenta eller inkompetenta vårdgivare. (IIb) Att ansvara för att utbilda vårdgivaren. (IIIa) Från att känna sig välkommen till att inte vilja söka vård.  Slutsats: Bemötandet av hälso- och sjukvården oroar transpersoner och behöver förbättras. Normaliserande reaktioner som stöttar snarare än fördömer önskas i bemötandet av Hälso- och sjukvården. Det teoretiska ramverket FoC kan användas som en vägledning för ge en personcentrerad vård i mötet med transpersoner på operationsavdelningen.

The transgender and gender diverse (TGD) patient population consists of a diverse group of people with unique needs who have, unfortunately, been underserved by the medical community. These individuals share a disproportionate burden of discrimination and disease when compared to cisgender persons. However, despite this, they continue to receive inequitable treatment, and transgender health topics still comprise just a small portion of medical education training. While efforts to improve awareness and training regarding transgender health care needs are underway, these take time to gain traction. It also relies heavily on changing medical providers’ own biases. Telemedicine has been proposed as a way to potentially bridge the gap and increase the access and availability of quality, informed medical care to this community. Although telemedicine has demonstrated its ability to do this in other areas of medicine, the existing research on whether it has the capacity to do so for transgender health care delivery is scant. The majority of the existing literature on the topic consists of retrospective qualitative feedback provided during a time where telemedicine was still emerging as a commonplace medium through which medical care is provided. Therefore, this thesis proposes to perform a randomized controlled trial investigating whether instituting a hybrid telemedicine approach has the capability to expand the accessibility of specialty transgender health care services as compared to fully in person medical care while maintaining a high standard of health care quality and patient satisfaction. This study would have the capacity to help inform future health care policy and provide support for continued telemedicine offerings and reimbursement moving forward.

<p dir="ltr">This thesis outlines a comprehensive training program designed to equip mental health professionals with the knowledge, skills, and cultural competency necessary to provide gender-affirming mental health services to transgender veterans. Included in this training is an overview of the literature documenting the severe mental health disparities experienced by this population through a minority stress framework, unique challenges and needs commonly faced by transgender veterans, and barriers to receiving culturally competent and effective mental health services. Guidelines for the provision of gender affirming therapy for transgender veterans are offered, in addition to opportunities for self-of-therapist reflections, discussions, and activities around these topics.</p>

Transgender and nonbinary (TNB) people identify with a gender identity that differs from cultural expectations based on sex assigned at birth. Many TNB people pursue social and/or medical transition with the intent of affirming their gender identity to themselves and the world around them. Medical transition describes the process of utilizing one or more forms of gender-affirming medical care (e.g., hormone therapy, gender confirmation surgery, hair removal, breast augmentation, mastectomy) in order to change the physical body such that it is more congruent with an individual’s affirmed gender identity. Researchers suggest that many TNB individuals currently use or desire to use gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), and that some TNB individuals desire or use nontraditional or non-standardized (e.g., low dose) hormone therapy regimens. Unfortunately, many TNB people encounter barriers in the process of accessing gender-affirming healthcare, especially individuals who are nonbinary and/or desire gender transition steps that are nontraditional or non-standardized (e.g., low-dose hormone therapy). In current research literature, little is currently known about the experiences and healthcare needs of TNB people who currently or desire to take nontraditional GAHT. To address this gap in the research literature, the present study was a qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with 10 TNB people to explore their experiences connected to nontraditional GAHT. The grounded theory analysis revealed a core category: Nontraditional Gender Affirmation Model. The core category is comprised of five axial level categories: Social Processes, Medical Processes, Barriers to Accessing Medical Transition Care, Facilitators to Accessing Medical Transition Care, and Coping with Distress and Barriers. The five axial level categories are comprised of 30 open-coding level categories and 33 open-coding level subcategories. The grounded theory model developed depicts a framework of various phenomena involved in the process of gender affirmation for transgender and nonbinary individuals with nontraditional gender transition needs, including nontraditional approaches to GAHT. Implications for healthcare providers, psychological practice, and future research are discussed.

This study investigated how Christianity affects Black queer women's decision-making regarding seeking mental health services. Those who felt they met the inclusion criteria completed a Basic Demographic Survey. After vetting these individuals, eleven female participants—who are both Black and queer—were asked to participate in an individual semi-structured qualitative interview. The interview focused on one's journey with mental health, societal and relationship influences, Black and LGBTQ+ identity, influences from conservative, traditional, or mainstream Christianity, and sense of self. Although Christianity may not have directly impacted most of the women in this study to seek mental health services, Christianity did have an overwhelmingly negative impact on these women's mental health and their queer identities both directly (i.e., church or the Bible) and indirectly (familial and societal beliefs rooted in Christianity). Due to the intersectionality of racial, sexual, and gender identities, this research will help look at how mental health professionals, Christians, and researchers can address those in this population. Keywords: Black, lesbian, bisexual, LGBTQ+, queer, women, Christianity, mental health services, mental health fields, community, sense of self, religion, sexuality, gender, gender roles, Black church, evangelicalism, mental health, faith, conservatism, traditional Christianity

Bakgrund: Transpersoner är en minoritetsgrupp i samhället som historiskt sett av sjukvården blivit behandlad annorlunda, exempelvis då det tidigare har setts som en psykisk sjukdom. Idag ser situationen annorlunda ut och transpersoner har samma rättigheter till god vård som andra patienter och har vissa särskilda behov. Sjuksköterskor har ett ansvar gentemot sina patienter att tillhandahålla vård på ett jämlikt sätt. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva transpersoners upplevelser av vårdpersonals bemötande. Metod: Litteraturöversikt som omfattar elva vetenskapliga artiklar. Resultat: De fyra teman som framkom var vårdpersonals kunskap om transpersoner, vårdpersonals språk gentemot transpersoner, att få frågor som inte är relevanta för ens vård och stigmatisering, diskriminering och utfrysning och dess påverkan. Sammanfattning: Transpersonerna beskrev upplevelser av både positivt och negativt bemötande och en mängd olika faktorer som påverkade upplevelsen av bemötandet. Vårdpersonal som hade mer kunskap om transpersoners behov, och använde ett inkluderande språk, skapade oftare positiva upplevelser. Vid frånvaron av dessa faktorer förekom det att transpersoner avstod från att söka vård. / Background: Transgender persons are a minority group in society that historically has been treated differently than other patient groups in a healthcare setting. Being transgender has for example been viewed as a mental illness. Today the situation has changed, and transgender people have the same rights to healthcare as any other patient and nurses have a responsibility to provide equal care no matter the patient’s gender. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe transgender persons experiences of interactions with healthcare personnel. Method: Literature review consisting of eleven scientific papers. Results: The four themes that emerged were healthcare personnel’s knowledge about transgender people, healthcare personnel’s language toward transgender people, receiving questions that are not relevant to your care, and discrimination and being excluded. Summary: Transgender people described both positive and negative interactions with health personnel and different factors affected the interactions. The use of inclusive language and general knowledge about transgender patients led to more positive experiences. Transgender people who experienced an absence of these factors sometimes avoided seeking healthcare.

Latinx lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) queer community members have unique health needs compared to non-Latinx heterosexual patients, including sexual and mental health issues, and challenges in ability to access healthcare. But research is unclear whether LGB Latinx patients may also face double stigma related to their sexual orientation and race. This study examined this issue in experiences of queer and Latinx adults with healthcare providers. I conducted semistructured in-depth interviews with 13 LGB Latinx adults between November 2018 and February 2019. Interviews were audio-recorded, and transcribed. Transcripts were coded, and data analyzed for themes using the Grounded Theory approach. My findings indicate that the quality of individual experience depends on key factors of the provider, in particular the provider's sexuality, gender, age, race, and ability to empathize. When LGB Latinx patients interact with like-identified providers, their experience is significantly more satisfactory, however, differently-identified providers who create open and non-judgmental communication with patients have the ability to provide this level of satisfactory service. More diverse staff in clinics also contributes to a better experience for LGB Latinx patients. This study calls attention to the need for greater diversity of healthcare providers as well as new non-judgmental approaches in care delivery to address LGB Latinx patients' needs.

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community is a unique population that has specific health issues and health care needs associated with lifestyle behaviors that increase risk for certain diseases. Health concerns include mental and behavioral health, issues associated with gender identity and relationships (i.e. intimate partner violence), sexually transmitted infections, and chronic illnesses. The research suggests poorer health outcomes for the LGBT population compared to heterosexual and/or cisgender counterparts. Most research conducted with LGBT populations occurred in more populated urban settings with very few studies focusing on this population in the rural context. Consequently, there is a paucity of information on the health care concerns of the rural LGBT population. Considering the information gap, this integrative review of 14 research articles focused on health-related issues of the LGBT population in rural regions. The findings revealed rural LGBT persons experience disparities in accessing health care and support services; coupled with health care providers who often were not culturally competent; and, sometimes, unfamiliar with evidence-based health care protocols when caring for the LGBT patient. Implications for nursing research, education, practice, and policy and study limitations are highlighted.

The wealth of literature which intends to explain various aspects of LGBT rights, politics, and activism in Eastern Europe has been well established (Swimelar, 2017, p. 912). There are currently two opposing theories on the effect of backlash on LGBT attitudes and activism. One theory, purported by O'Dwyer, suggests that backlash is beneficial to the visibility of LGBT issues and for attracting international attention and support. Rosenberg argues that right-wing backlash is detrimental to attitudes and activism (Rosenberg 2008, p. 344-347). These two arguments for and against the "benefits to backlash" approach are clearly defined and testable. With this paper, I will map out the history of anti-LGBT backlash in Russia, along with the development of the gay propaganda law, and how it supports or detracts from both theories.