Research reveals gap in health care services for transgender Ontarians

Greta BauerGreta Bauer, PhD, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, led a study examining the factors associated with transgender patients’ access to and comfort with family physicians. She found that approximately half of transgender Ontarians who have a family physician are not comfortable discussing transgender- related health issues with their family physician.

Issues which impacted a patient’s level of discomfort with their family physician included whether they perceived their doctor was knowledgeable about transgender-related issues, their medical transition status, previous marital status and negative experiences with family physicians.

The study also found that transgender patients were less likely to have a family physician, compared with the general population in Ontario— 83.1 per cent and 90.9 per cent, respectively.

“Universal access to health care is a tenet of our health care system, but in reality, not everyone has true access to the same level of health care,” said Bauer. “All patients need to feel comfortable with their doctor, otherwise there are barriers to accessing care— whether it’s for medical transition- related care or bronchitis.”

Data were collected through the Trans PULSE Project —a community-based research project initiated by Bauer and a broad group of academic and community colleagues in 2005 that is investigating the impact of social exclusion and discrimination on the health of transgender people in Ontario.