Male-to-Female Transgender Veterans and VA Health Care Utilization
- 1 January 2012
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Informa UK Limited in Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality
- Vol. 24 (1), 78-87
- https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2011.639440
Abstract
This study examined rates of military veteran status in an American male-to-female transgender community sample (n = 141). Thirty percent were veterans (n = 43), a rate that is triple the proportion of veteran status noted in the general population (10.1%). Among the veteran subsample, we examined health care utilization, including Veterans Health Administration (VA), health, and barriers to care. Use of VA services was higher among transgender veterans (transvets) than published rates of VA use in the general population of veterans (annual 6.2% to 15.8%), with 16.3% of all transvets seeking some VA care in the past 6- months. The most common physical health problems treated at the VA in the past year were high cholesterol, blood pressure, and vision problems. Irrespective of VA use, the majority of transvets reported getting routine health care (88.4%), and their physical health ratings were commensurate with population norms. Mental health services (e.g., depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and gender identity counseling) were also utilized (9.3% VA, 25.6% non-VA) at levels consistent with the relatively low mental health functioning scores in this sample (SF-12 = 32.6, SD = 8.3). Barriers to care were endorsed more for medical than mental health treatment. In particular, transvets were concerned about medical providers’ reactions to their gender identity or sexual orientation. Given elevated rates of transvets in this community sample and reported barriers to care, culturally sensitive treatment is a priority for transvets in both VA and non-VA health care systems.Keywords
This publication has 13 references indexed in Scilit:
- 70 U.S. Veterans with Gender Identity Disturbances: A Descriptive StudyInternational Journal of Transgenderism, 2010
- Transgender Clients: Identifying and Minimizing Barriers to Mental Health TreatmentJournal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 2010
- Suicide risk among transgender individualsPsychology & Sexuality, 2010
- Trauma in Transgender Populations: Risk, Resilience, and Clinical CareJournal of Emotional Abuse, 2008
- Changes in Veterans’ Use of Outpatient Care From 1992 to 2000American Journal of Public Health, 2005
- Providing culturally sensitive care for transgender patientsCognitive and Behavioral Practice, 2005
- The risk less known: female-to-male transgender persons’ vulnerability to HIV infectionAIDS Care, 2005
- The Veterans Affairs Medical Care SystemMedical Care, 1998
- Personality Characteristics and Sexual Functioning of 188 Cross-Dressing MenThe Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 1996
- A 12-Item Short-Form Health SurveyMedical Care, 1996