This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Pitts, M. K. Articles by Mitchell, A. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Transgender People in Australia and New Zealand: Health, Well-being and Access to Health Services

Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society, La Trobe University, 215 Franklin Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000, Australia, m.pitts{at}latrobe.edu.au

Murray Couch

Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society, La Trobe University, 215 Franklin Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000, Australia, m.couch{at}latrobe.edu.au

Hunter Mulcare

Turning Point, 54-62 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy Victoria 3065, Australia, HunterM{at}turningpoint.org.au

Samantha Croy

Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society, La Trobe University, 215 Franklin Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000, Australia, s.croy{at}latrobe.edu.au

Anne Mitchell

Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society, La Trobe University, 215 Franklin Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000, Australia, a.mitchell{at}latrobe.edu.au

This research had its beginnings in an act of trans activism, including a campaign by a number of trans organizations advocating the need for research dealing with health, well-being and access to health services in relation to this population. This study set out to recruit the broadest possible community sample by using a range of recruitment techniques and an online survey. In total, 253 respondents completed the survey. Of these, 229 were from Australia (90.5%) and 24 (9.5%) were from New Zealand. Respondents rated their health on a five-point scale; the majority of the sample rated their health as ‘good’ or ‘very good’. On the SF36 scale, respondents had poorer health ratings than the general population in Australia and New Zealand. Respondents reported rates of depression much higher than those found in the general Australian population, with assigned males being twice as likely to experience depression as assigned females. Respondents who had experienced greater discrimination were more likely to report being currently depressed. Respondents were asked about their best and worst experiences with a health practitioner or health service in relation to being trans. They contrasted encounters where they felt accepted and supported by their practitioners with others where they were met with hostility.

Key Words: depression • health service use • self-reported health • recognition • trans

Feminism & Psychology, Vol. 19, No. 4, 475-495 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0959353509342771


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?