Date of Conferral

2016

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Health

Advisor

Peter Anderson

Abstract

Access to and receipt of health care is an essential human right; however, transgender people often have negative health seeking experiences that give way to the many health disparities seen in the transgender community. Using the social ecological model, this study determined, through multiple logistic regressions, that correlations existed between socioeconomic, health behaviors, and sociocultural variables and 6 measures of health seeking experiences among transgender African Americans. Secondary data from the 2010 National Transgender Discrimination Survey were used, yielding a sample size of 253 transgender African Americans. Those in the African American transgender community at most risk for negative health seeking experiences had the following characteristics: (a) earned high school diplomas and beyond, (b) were in the workforce or looking to be in the workforce, (c) earned an annual salary exceeding $10,000, (d) did not want hormone therapy, (e) abused alcohol and drugs, (f) attempted suicide, (g) were uninsured or had public insurance, (h) were out in a medical setting, (i) were homosexual, (j) had family support, (k) were homeless, (l) were older in age, (m) self-identified as transgender before 18, (n) received first transgender related medical treatment after 17 years old, (o) lived outside of the New England region, and (p) preferred other health settings than emergency rooms. Exploring this aspect of transgenderism and health care has potential for positive social impact as results from this study could improve the lives of transgender African Americans by combating transphobia among health professionals and promoting culturally competent health care.

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