Breaking the binary: addressing healthcare disparities within Sacramento's transgender community

Project (M.S.W., Social Work)--California State University, Sacramento, 2013.Previous research has illuminated the fact that the transgender community faces many barriers to healthcare (Lombardi, 2001). The purpose of the present study was to determine the current barriers that the greater Sacramento area transgender community experiences surrounding the ability to access quality healthcare services. The researcher conducted interviews with transsexual individuals, health professionals, community advocates and Social Work professors. The present study, like previous research in other parts of the country, revealed that medical professionals are not adequately trained in transgender cultural competency and that more education and training needs to be given to both mental and physical health providers. The present study also found that Gender Identity Disorder, a mental disorder that transgender-identified individuals are often diagnosed with, assists transgender individuals in insurance coverage but also stigmatizes them. Implications for social work practice in addition to future research recommendations are also discussed.Social Wor