TRANSnetwork - Trans Health Research & Advocacy Network in the South
Welcome!
TRANSnetwork is a collaborative of community members, academic researchers, and healthcare providers in Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, and North Carolina partnered to work to improve the health & wellbeing of trans/non-binary people in the South.
Operating as usual
Development of a Regional Transgender Health Research and Education Collaborative in the Southern US
Background: Transgender (trans) / non-binary (NB) individuals—those whose gender identity differs from the s*x they were assigned at birth—experience significant health disparities and frequent healthcare discrimination. One-third of 27,715 trans-identifying respondents in a national 2015 survey reported one or more bad experiences with healthcare in the past year due to being trans and 23% avoided seeking necessary healthcare because of fear of being mistreated. Trans people experiencing discrimination and limited access to affirming care have worse health outcomes and those living in the South are more likely to have been harassed at school or lose a job due to bias, and less likely to have health insurance, when compared to those in other parts of the U.S.
Proposed Solution: We propose to tackle these challenges by supporting and building the capacity of racially and ethnically diverse trans/NB patients and community members, affirming clinicians and researchers to address stigma, discrimination, and other access barriers to affirming transgender healthcare in the south. We will use an intersectional approach to develop a regional transgender health research and education collaborative in the Southern US by expanding existing efforts in Arkansas (AR) to North Carolina (NC) and Georgia (GA).
Objectives: Long-term Goal 1: Collaboratively conduct patient-centered outcomes and comparative effectiveness research (PCOR/CER) addressing trans healthcare disparities across the south through a multi-state southern regional collaborative. Long-term Goal 2: Measurably improve trans/NB patients’ access to medically competent, affirming healthcare through PCOR in our rural southern states. Aim 1: Develop a southern regional collaborative building on partnerships between diverse trans/NB individuals and organizations, and researchers and providers interested in trans/NB health, in AR, NC, and GA through in-state and regional meetings and capacity–building webinars and interactive virtual discussions. Aim 2: Identify / summarize educational and research priorities of collaborative members. Aim 3: Archive / disseminate meeting materials, webinars and virtual discussions, and develop / disseminate a lessons learned document focused on building new trans/NB community and provider collaborations.
Activities: Our activities will include monthly regional team meetings; individual and group meetings with community/providers/researchers to develop new partners and to identify priorities; establishing a Facebook group; providing capacity-building webinars; developing a lessons learned document; and archiving and disseminating meeting materials, webinars, virtual discussions, and other products.