A pilot training program that was implemented in an urban clinic shows that it is possible to change attitudes towards transgender individuals and alleviate their discrimination and mistreatment through specialised provider training to increase knowledge about transgender health and needs as well as positive attitudes. The article "Implementation and Evaluation of a Pilot Training to Improve Transgender Competency Among Medical Staff in an Urban Clinic" is published in Transgender Health.
Three 2-hour training sessions were delivered to the staff of New York City-based outpatient clinics that served individuals of colour and low socioeconomic status. Then pre-training and post-training scores were compared that showed significant changes in attitude towards transgender individuals, transgender-related clinical skills, awareness of transphobic practices, and readiness to serve transgender patients.
"Studies such as this are an important academic contribution to the transgender health literature," says Editor-in-Chief Robert Garofalo MD, MPH, Professor of Pediatrics and Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and Director, Center for Gender, Sexuality and HIV Prevention, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. He also pointed out that there are limited interventions in published literature currently that specifically address training healthcare providers and improving healthcare outcomes for transgender people. Programs such as these can help in educating providers about transgender health issues and can also improve access to care.
Source: Transgender Health
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
