The Experience of Transgender People in the Italian Healthcare Context: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people is an umbrella term used to describe members of the multiple societies with gender identities or expressions differing from the gender socially attributed to the sex assigned at birth. TGD people still face denial of services, discrimination, harassment, and even violence by healthcare professionals, causing them to avoid seeking ongoing or preventive healthcare. Thus, TGD people have many barriers to health. Barriers to health play an important role in understanding the causes of disparities and they are important, yet understudied, predictors of health promotion. This article describes the health experiences of TGD people regarding their access and use of Italian healthcare. Material and methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted using a descriptive phenomenological approach with twenty transgender people between December 2021 and September 2023. The data were analyzed following the method proposed by Colaizzi with the help of the Atlas.ti8 software. Results: Twenty TGD people participated. All Italian regions have been included. TGD people care experiences were divided into three areas: obstacles, training experience, and role of the family. Participants identified negative issues and difficulties with the health system due to healthcare providers’ lack of competence. Discriminatory, authoritarian, and paternalist behaviours are still present and hinder the therapeutic relationship, care, and access to healthcare services. There is an important need for the major inclusion of TGD people and training for healthcare professionals in sexual diversity. Training in sexual and gender diversity should be included in the curricula of university courses in the healthcare professionals.

Keywords: transgender and gender diverse people, Italian healthcare, qualitative study, inclusion, Colaizzi method.