With the public more aware than ever of the transgender population, now is a time for public health and health care professionals to understand and address their issues. While training programs on transgender health are necessary to improve medical care and health outcomes, other issues affecting the transgender population must be addressed as well. Violence against transgender persons is disproportionally higher, and the greater likelihood of negative health outcomes is directly related to stress from fear of violence or trauma associated with being a victim of violence. Respect for the transgender population includes rational policies that allow for changes of identity documents including birth certificates and driving licenses. And while asking for and using the preferred pronoun of an individual, regardless of what pronoun the speaker thinks should apply, may seem unimportant to some of us, doing so is a common courtesy and shows the respect due to out and proud transgender people.
Authors: Stewart Landers and Farzana Kapadia
We strive to build lasting relationships to produce better health outcomes for all.
