#MyTransHealth gets all the cookies, providing a more #TransFriendly medical care alternative. - http://clapway.com/2015/08/20/mytranshealth-closing-the-gap-in-healthcare-for-transgender-people-version-2-0-123/

Transgender people and trans issues are getting visibility lately, which is unquestionably positive news. The White House hired its first openly transgender staffer and the Caitlyn Jenner effect endures. However, words don’t always match actions. The transgender community is still facing several challenges namely in the field of healthcare — but hopefully here to change that is startup MyTransHealth.

For trans people by trans people: Why healthcare?

Healthcare providers fail trans patients far too often. The proof is in the hashtag #TransHealthFail launched by MyTransHealth on July 30 to reveal the many barriers trans patients face.

The new survey, the U.S. Trans Survey (USTS), conducted by and for trans Americans is expected to be “the largest, most extensive study ever undertaken of trans lives” in the country. The USTS is a follow-up to the much-cited Transgender Discrimination Survey, which unveiled that one in four transgender people delay seeking healthcare due to discrimination. How many American citizens know that?

“We’re at a critical moment for trans people in America, but there is basic, fundamental knowledge that we do not have,” Mara Keisling, the executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, which is conducting the survey, said in a press release. “While we’re aware that trans people face extraordinary challenges, we cannot discern how frequent or widespread they are without up-to-date data. The survey will provide us with robust, fresh data, which will translate into significant knowledge about the trans community.”

To bridge the healthcare gap affecting transgender people, MyTransHealth came up with a plan: offer a free service, fully funded on Kickstarter.

More than “trans-friendly”

The startup already raised $31K, and will launch this fall in New York City, Miami and San Francisco, connecting the transgender community with qualified healthcare providers, according to TechCrunch.

“MyTransHealth seeks to eliminate barriers and increase access to quality healthcare for the trans community, so that they can lead healthier, happier lives,” the company explained.

“Access to quality healthcare is a universal need, yet lack of adequate care is a crisis in this community. For a population of over 750,000 Americans, this is unacceptable.”

How does MyTransHealth work?

MyTransHealth will link transgender people with qualified, culturally competent doctors in their neighborhood. Individuals in need will be able to choose from four different categories: medical, mental health, legal, and crisis care. Users will be able to filter results based on need including (but not limited to): resource type, language, insurance, and accessibility.

Over 50 healthcare providers have passed a screening process allowing them to join the project.

Trans health reality check

Transgender people still lack adequate access to healthcare, most can’t afford health insurance and realize that their public or private plans exclude transition-related services. The community is still victim of invasive questioning and of a permanent and unapologetic misgendering.

Many trans people, have been reportedly denied care, physically abused or sexually violated while in care. According to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, which surveyed more than 6,000 transgender individuals, 28% of trans people report being harassed in medical settings.

Suicide Epidemic

A recent study by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Williams Institute also reported that suicide attempts are alarmingly common among transgender individuals; 41% try to kill themselves at some point in their lives, compared with 4.6% of the general public.

“When I tried to kill myself and was taken to a suicide center, I was made fun of by staff and treated roughly,” said one trans person in the National Trans Discrimination Survey.

The time has come to ripple change through the health profession and finally integrate transgender people into the patient-doctor equation.

What do you think of MyTransHealth and the mistreatment transgeder people experience from health professionals? Share your views in the comments section below.

More transgender news from Clapway:

Transgender People Turn to Crowdfunding to Pay For Surgery
Do Black Trans Lives Matter? Amber Monroe Victim N.12
5 Historical Transgender Heroes

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MyTransHealth: Closing The Gap in Healthcare for Transgender People Version 2.0

It"s hard enough as is becoming #ComfortableWithYourBody and having 0 degrees of #BodyDysphoria. - http://clapway.com/2015/08/05/body-positivity-and-why-eating-disorders-hit-the-transgender-community-the-most-242/

Eating disorders are often associated with women, yet a new study found the prevalence of the condition in transgender college students is far greater than any other gender group.

Having an eating disorder means fighting a raging civil war within: food versus body satisfaction. It’s an addiction unlike many others. You ‘rate’ your body every time you look at yourself in the mirror. You must interact with food at least three times a day.

Eating disorders get particularly challenging for individuals with a conflicted gender identity. Researchers think that the main reason for this is that many trans-people feel a pressure to fit traditional beauty standards, which may cause them to use extreme measures to try to change their appearances.

Body positivity in the transgender community

The body positivism movement in the transgender community was recently explored by Sam Dylan Finch, a transgender writer and queer activist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He argued that the mantra of “love your body, no matter the shape or size, exactly as it is,” is just something he cannot identify with. Who is this movement really speaking to?

“As a trans person, I experience body dysphoria. This means that I have pretty significant distress around certain parts of my body because I associate them with a gender that I don’t identify with,” Finch. “This is fancy talk for “Holy shit, I cannot make peace with my body today or ever, because this body is telling the world I’m a woman when I’m actually not.”

15.82% transgender students diagnosed with an eating disorder

Recent statistics revealed that the transgender community needs body positivism the most. The study carried out by Washington University at St. Louis unveiled that transgender students had been diagnosed with an eating disorder in the past year at an alarming rate of 15.82%.

The study published in the August issue of The Journal of Adolescent Health, the official journal of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, accessed data from 289,024 students from 223 U.S. universities in order to identify eating disorders. This study was one of the first ones to include transgender students in the participant group. Of the respondents, 479 identified as transgender.

Students had to respond on whether they had been diagnosed or treated by a professional for eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia in the past year. The study also examined past-month diet pill, the use of laxatives and vomiting, which were reportedly much higher in transgender students. More so even than cisgender women or men born the gender they identify as.

The question is: Why?

Researchers hypothesized that transgender individuals may be more likely to suffer from eating disorders to suppress or accentuate gendered features.

“It has been suggested that striving for weight loss may be a way for transgender women to conform to feminine ideals of slimness and attractiveness,” they wrote. “Transgender men and women may also use weight loss to suppress secondary sexual characteristics.”

Another reason for the rise the authors point out, is the “the excess stress experienced by individuals in stigmatized social categories” such as transgender people, compared to other groups.

“Among lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals, a strong link has been found between higher levels of minority stress and poorer mental health outcomes,” the researchers wrote. “The same mechanisms are likely at play in transgender individuals, who may be exposed to substantial amounts of discrimination, both on an interpersonal and societal level.”

Transgender people may also have reported higher rates of diagnosis because they are more likely to have consulted a mental health professional. The National Transgender Discrimination Survey found that 75 percent of transgender people had received counseling on their gender identity compared to just 18 percent of the general public.

Ahead of the 2015 U.S. Trans Survey, which is set to launch later this month, what do you think of eating disorders in the transgender community? Share your views in the comments section below.

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Body Positivity and Why Eating Disorders Hit the Transgender Community the Most