Exploring health and social care professionals’ initial perceptions of caring for trans patients
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Exploring health and social care professionals’ initial perceptions of caring for trans patients

Martina Inessa Kirlew Senior lecturer, Health and Wellbeing, University of Bolton, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England
Helen Lord Senior lecturer, School of Health and Midwifery, University of Bolton, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England
Joey Weber Lecturer, School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Bolton, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To recognise the issues that trans people may experience when accessing healthcare services

  • To understand the need for training to raise health and social care professionals’ awareness of trans issues

  • To enhance your ability to identify trans patients’ needs and to provide appropriate care and treatment

Aim To investigate the initial perceptions that health and social care professionals have when caring for trans patients.

Method This was a qualitative study that involved semi-structured interviews with five participants in one geographical area as a snapshot study. The research transcripts were analysed, and themes were identified and examined.

Findings The main themes identified from the interviews with participants were: discrimination; lack of understanding of the trans body and gender identity; confusion around terminology; cultural perceptions and attitudes towards trans people; professionalism; the need for trans awareness training; and social recognition for trans staff members.

Conclusion The findings of this study suggest there is a need to develop trans awareness training for staff working in areas of practice that are likely to provide care for trans people, such as acute care, emergency departments and mental health services. This could improve health outcomes for trans people and increase the likelihood of them accessing health and social care services in the future.

Nursing Standard. doi: 10.7748/ns.2020.e11383

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

m.kirlew@bolton.ac.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Kirlew MI, Lord H, Weber J (2020) Exploring health and social care professionals’ initial perceptions of caring for trans patients. Nursing Standard. doi: 10.7748/ns.2020.e11383

Published online: 04 May 2020

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