What Does Gender-Affirming Care Mean?

Health care needs a revamp for inclusivity.

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By Daphne Lee, News Editor Transgender Awareness Week takes place between November 13 and 19 each year. This is a week for us to talk about the experiences of the transgender and non-binary communities, who still face many barriers in accessing essential health care. Today's Top Story What Does Gender-Affirming Care Look Like? Accessing health care can be anxiety-inducing for transgender and gender-diverse people. Sometimes, they get turned away by doctors or even threatened verbally and physically.   Clair Kronk, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in medical informatics at Yale School of Medicine, said she's almost experienced it all as a trans person—from being misgendered to being told that she's a "sinner."   "Life-saving gender-affirming care can start in any clinic, anywhere," she said.   Gender-affirming health care is considered "medically necessary" by the American Medical Association. It can include surgical procedures and hormone therapies that affirm someone's gender identity, but it also goes beyond medical support. This means better privacy systems, inclusive clinical trials and data, shorter wait times, insurance coverage, education, and more.   Providers can strive to offer a judgment-free space where transgender and non-binary people can feel comfortable and confident when seeking care.   For example, they can ask for a first-time patient's preferred name or pronoun to avoid making assumptions. Patient intake forms can also adopt a two-step approach that asks for gender identity—female, male, nonbinary, questioning, not listed, or prefer not to disclose—and sex assigned at birth. Know More A third of transgender people in the United States have had negative experiences with healthcare providers, and 23% said they've avoided seeking medical care due to fear of mistreatment, according to a survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality. Feel Better It's not only important for healthcare providers, but also for everyone, to learn about the differences between sex assigned at birth (what's on your birth certicate), gender identy (how you understand yourself), and gender expression (how you present your gender to the world). READ MORE Pfizer's COVID-19 Pill Is 'Overwhelmingly' Effective The vaccine maker's antiviral COVID-19 drug seems to be extremely promising. In its latest clinical trial, Pfizer's pill reduced hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 by 89%. The result was so impressive that Pfizer was able to stop the trial early. Experts say an FDA emergency authorization may come sooner than expected. READ MORE Child Care Should be a Health Benefit Raising a child in the United States is very expensive, yet government spending on early care and education is almost nonexistent. The lack of resources has serious consequences. At the height of the pandemic, 4 million homes with children didn't have internet access for remote learning and many more of them had trouble accessing food. Government-funded pre-k programs could help resolve this issue and set children up for success and allow parents to stay in the workforce. READ MORE     In an interview with Verywell, Carl Streed, MD, MPH, an LGBTQ health advocate, said that gender-affirming care should be covered by all insurance plans and that all healthcare professionals should receiving proper training on it. Gender-affirming care is acknowledging the diversity of gender that has always been a part of the human experience. Doing right by transgender and gender-diverse persons via gender-affirming care actually benefits everyone. Carl Streed, MD, MPH Assistant Professor at the Boston University School of Medicine   Keep Reading   ■ Adele and Oprah Discuss Divorce, Weight Loss, and Taylor Swift. BBC     ■ What Is the 'Clean Look' on TikTok? The Cut     ■ What the World Did and Didn't Accomplish at COP26. Vox More From Verywell Nov 20: Transgender Day of Remembrance READ MORE What Is Heteronormativity? READ MORE Differences Between Sex and Gender READ MORE   How'd we do? If you have any feedback, send us a note at   feedback@verywell.com.       You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the Verywell Health newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here.   A DOTDASH BRAND 28 Liberty Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10005   © 2021 verywellhealth.com - All rights reserved. Privacy Policy