Latest news with #AdvocatesforTransEqualityEducationFund
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
New survey reveals crucial role of family support in transgender health and wellbeing
The largest-ever survey of transgender adults in the United States confirms what trans people have long known: support, especially from family, can be a matter of life and death. Keep up with the latest in + news and politics. Released Wednesday by the Advocates for Trans Equality Education Fund, the report draws on responses from more than 84,000 trans adults nationwide and presents a complex but cautiously hopeful portrait of health and access to care. It finds that transgender people are significantly more likely to report good health when they have supportive families and the ability to live in alignment with their gender identity. Those who experienced family rejection, by contrast, reported far higher rates of suicidal ideation and attempts. Related: 'This report tells us that, for the most part, trans people are happy, healthy, and getting the care they need, especially when they can live out their lives freely,' said Ankit Rastogi, A4TE's director of research. 'Attacks aimed at removing trans people from public life and limiting trans people's access to health care threaten to halt this progress.' The report, 'Health and Wellbeing: Findings from the 2022 U.S. Trans Survey,' is the third installment of a series analyzing data from the 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey. It provides one of the most detailed statistical insights into transgender people's lives in the United States at a moment when health care access for the community is increasingly politicized. Related: Compared to the 2015 version of the survey, the new data suggest improved experiences in clinical settings. Trust in providers appears to be increasing: 50 percent of respondents in 2022 said all of their health care providers knew they were transgender, up from 40 percent in 2015. Nearly three in four respondents—73 percent—who disclosed their transgender status to a provider said they were treated with respect by at least one provider, an increase from 62 percent in the previous survey. Still, structural barriers remain. Although 88 percent of respondents said they wanted gender-affirming hormone therapy, only 56 percent reported receiving it. Other access measures showed progress: 57 percent reported having a dedicated provider for transition-related care, up from 44 percent in 2015. Denial rates for gender-confirmation surgeries fell sharply, from 55 percent in 2015 to 20 percent in 2022. Related: Despite these gains, health disparities between trans adults and the general U.S. population remain pronounced. Just 66 percent of trans respondents rated their health as 'excellent,' 'very good,' or 'good,' compared to 81 percent of the general population. Insurance coverage was also lower among trans adults—87 percent versus 92 percent—and younger respondents reported worse health than older ones. While 78 percent of trans adults age 65 and older said their health was good or better, only 60 percent of those ages 18 to 24 said the same. 'Good health is the foundation that allows everyone to thrive,' said Andy Marra, CEO of A4TE. 'It is unconscionable that access to health care is now on the chopping block for millions of vulnerable Americans, including tens of thousands of trans people.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Beyond stereotypes: Survey provides insights about trans Americans from trans Americans
The organization said that transgender Americans in all states and Washington D.C. participated in the survey in 2022. (Getty Images) This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. When transgender Americans experience discrimination — like being harassed or denied equal services and medical care — they're more likely to have poor mental health, a new report shows. 'Health and Wellbeing: Findings from the 2022 US Trans Survey,' released by the Advocates for Trans Equality Education Fund on Wednesday, includes insights from surveying 84,170 trans adults across the United States. The report doesn't break down results by state, but the organization said that transgender Americans in all states and Washington D.C. participated in the survey in 2022. Questions covered general health and access to health care, transition related care, sexual and reproductive health, mental health, life satisfaction and happiness and substance use. Ankit Rastogi, the director of research at Advocates for Trans Equality, said during a Tuesday press conference that the organization conducts the survey because 'the best way to learn about trans people is to ask trans people.' 'We need social acceptance and family support and the ability to live our lives authentically in public safely,' Rastogi said. 'These are all means to create better health and well-being among trans people.' Among other findings, the report shows: Trans people who have supportive family members reported lower rates of suicidality than those without support. Among those with no victimization, 31% reported considering suicide in the past year, lower than the 50% for those who were verbally harassed, 53% for those who were denied equal treatment and 63% for those who were physically assaulted. Older Americans surveyed reported better health than younger respondents with 78% of those 65 and older vs. 60% of 18-24-year-olds rating their health as good or better. About 84% wanted gender-affirming care and about 60% received it. Trust in health care providers was higher in 2022 than in 2015, when the organization last conducted the survey, with half of respondents saying all their providers knew they were transgender compared to 40% in 2015. Many health care providers were supportive of their trans patients. early 3 in 4 (73%) respondents who disclosed their transgender status to their provider reported they felt treated with respect by at least one provider — higher than the 62% in 2015. Despite greater trust in medical providers, trans individuals still put off seeing a health care provider because they fear they'll be disrespected. The survey shows this is true for 32% of trans men and 20% of trans women. The fear of mistreatment isn't unwarranted. The survey shows 47% of gender non-conforming Americans had negative experiences with health care providers in the 12 months leading up to their survey. Olivia Hunt, the organization's director of federal policy, said the survey results can offer policy makers and the general public a better understanding of what it means to be a transgender person in America. 'Over the past decade, the idea of trans people has become something that's more and more prominent in the media and popular consciousness,' Hunt said during the Tuesday press conference. 'But unfortunately, to most people, including those lawmakers and policymakers that I and my team meet with so often, trans people ourselves are just an abstract idea, an idea that's based on stereotypes and assumptions and often incredibly inaccurate pop culture representations of trans people.' Involvement in advocacy, Hunt said, will help make 'trans people real' rather than a composite of a stereotypical character. And, she said, 'having real, concrete and rigorous data about the realities of trans people's day to day lives' helps to dispel misinformation. 'Trans people live all around the country. We're not just a community that exists in some sort of abstract 'somewhere else.' We're in every state and territory, in towns and cities from coast to coast, and almost certainly in every single congressional district,' Hunt said. 'That's something that I think is still not really there in the public consciousness.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
