Publication Date
1-22-2022
Document Type
Article
Organizational Units
Graduate School of Social Work
Keywords
Health literacy, Transgender and nonbinary health, Barriers to care, Facilitators to care, Healthcare
Abstract
Transgender and nonbinary (TNB) individuals face disparities in nearly every aspect of health. One factor associated with poor health outcomes in other marginalized populations is health literacy, yet no identified studies examine health literacy in TNB samples. Moreover, most health literacy frameworks focus primarily on the capacities of individual patients to understand and use healthcare information, with little attention given to provider literacy and environmental factors. In partnership with a statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization, we recruited 46 transgender and nonbinary individuals to participate in seven focus groups conducted in urban, suburban, and rural locations throughout Colorado. TNB participants consistently engaged in efforts to increase their own health literacy and that of their medical providers yet faced multiple barriers to improve care. Difficulty identifying and physically reaching care, insurance and out-of-pocket expenses, negative experiences with healthcare providers and staff, provider incompetence, discriminatory and oppressive practices, and exclusionary forms and processes emerged as barriers to enacted health literacy among participants. Conversely, facilitators of enacted healthcare literacy included positive experiences with healthcare providers and staff, and inclusive forms and processes
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Rights Holder
C. Riley Hostetter, Jarrod Call, Donald R. Gerke, Brendon T. Holloway, N. Eugene Walls, Jennifer C. Greenfield
Provenance
Received from author
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
16 pgs
File Size
543 KB
Publication Statement
This article was originally published as:
Hostetter, C.R., Call, J., Gerke, D.R., Holloway, B.T., Walls, N.E., & Greenfield, J.C. (2022). “We are doing the absolute most that we can, and no one is listening”: Barriers and facilitators to health literacy within transgender and nonbinary communities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), 1229. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031229
Publication Title
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume
19
First Page
1
Last Page
16
ISSN
1660-4601
Recommended Citation
Hostetter, C. Riley; Call, Jarrod; Gerke, Donald R.; Holloway, Brendon T.; Walls, N. Eugene; and Greenfield, Jennifer C., "“We Are Doing the Absolute Most That We Can, and No One Is Listening”: Barriers and Facilitators to Health Literacy Within Transgender and Nonbinary Communities" (2022). Graduate School of Social Work: Faculty Scholarship. 163.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/gssw_facultyscholarship/163
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031229
DOI Link
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031229
Included in
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Medicine and Health Commons, Other Public Health Commons, Social Work Commons