School of Social Work, West Virginia University, 29 Beechurst Ave, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA.
Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Medical Director, Gender & Sexual Development Clinic, WVU Medicine Children's, West Virginia University School of Medicine, 1 Medical Center Drive, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Dec 2;18(23):12700. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182312700.
Research indicates that rural transgender and gender diverse (TGD) populations have a greater need for health services when compared with their urban counterparts, face unique barriers to accessing services, and have health disparities that are less researched than urban TGD populations. Therefore, the primary aim of this mixed-methods study ( = 24) was to increase research on the health care needs of TGD people in a rural Appalachian American context. This study was guided by a community-engaged model utilizing a community advisory board of TGD people and supportive parents of TGD children. Quantitative results indicate that travel burden is high, affirming provider availability is low, and the impacts on the health and mental health of TGD people in this sample are notable. Qualitative results provide recommendations for providers and health care systems to better serve this population. Integrated mixed-methods results further illustrate ways that rural TGD people and families adapt to the services available to them, sometimes at significant economic and emotional costs. This study contributes to the small but growing body of literature on the unique needs of rural TGD populations, including both adults and minors with supportive parents, by offering insights into strategies to address known disparities.
研究表明,与城市同行相比,农村跨性别和性别多样化(TGD)人群对医疗服务的需求更大,他们在获得服务方面面临独特的障碍,而且健康差距的研究也少于城市 TGD 人群。因此,本混合方法研究(=24)的主要目的是增加在阿巴拉契亚美国农村背景下对 TGD 人群医疗需求的研究。本研究以社区参与模式为指导,利用 TGD 人群和 TGD 儿童支持父母的社区咨询委员会。定量结果表明,旅行负担很高,肯定的是,提供者的可用性很低,而且对本样本中 TGD 人群的健康和心理健康的影响是显著的。定性结果为提供者和医疗保健系统提供了更好地为这一人群服务的建议。综合混合方法的结果进一步说明了农村 TGD 人群和家庭如何适应他们可获得的服务,有时这需要付出巨大的经济和情感代价。本研究通过提出解决已知差距的策略,为农村 TGD 人群(包括有支持父母的成年人和未成年人)的独特需求这一少量但不断增长的文献做出了贡献。