ATLAS: Arkansas Transgender Learning and Support
Summary
From an Olympian who shared her transgender status on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine to gender-neutral bathroom debates, the average American has had contact with transgender issues, yet few, including medical professionals, know how to interact with this thriving population. Considering Arkansas’ estimated transgender population of over 13,000 adults, the medical community must develop strategies to best serve this population.
Transgender individuals often lack access to healthcare and face health disparities, especially in the rural South. They sometimes avoid medical care due to negative experiences with medical providers and are at increased risk of several health conditions, including certain cancers and heart disease. They face discrimination and experience depression and anxiety that contributes to higher rates of substance abuse. The suicide attempt rate among transgender individuals is a staggering 41% compared to 4.6% of the overall population. In 2015, 35% of 222 transgender individuals surveyed in Arkansas had at least one negative healthcare experience related to being transgender, some having to educate their providers regarding transgender needs.
Since 2015, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has hosted the only adult transgender clinic in Arkansas. With over 300 patients and a three-month waiting list, UAMS recognizes transgender outreach and education is needed for transgender individuals as well as their healthcare providers and families. Through the proposed project Arkansas Transgender Learning and Support (ATLAS), providers will learn how to deliver non-discriminatory care and create welcoming environments for transgender individuals. Transgender individuals often lack access to quality healthcare, avoid medical care, fear rejection by medical providers, and disproportionately experience depression, anxiety, heart disease, and other disparities. ATLAS will create a statewide virtual educational teleconference for healthcare professionals, with an emphasis on medically underserved and rural areas that have few means of support for providers interacting with transgender individuals. ATLAS education seeks to reach medical doctors, nurses, and/or healthcare workers practicing at local health units, community health centers, hospitals, and clinics in the state of Arkansas. ATLAS’s developed curriculum and learning opportunities will be available in print and for streaming and download to healthcare providers across the world through UAMS’ LearnonDemand.org website, making the lessons developed through ATLAS available to all students long after the project ends.
ATLAS will achieve a couple of important steps for UAMS. One, it will work toward promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, reflecting the values of the newly formed UAMS Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. LGBTQI treatment should be a cornerstone to this division, and this project will help launch an effort that directly aligns with UAMS’ strategic vision to create an “open, welcoming place for all patient, employees and guests.” Moreover, the Strategic Plan 2020 goals in provider education and clinical service both align with the ATLAS proposal.
Researchers:
- Mary Racher (Author)
- Kate Stewart
- Kathryn Stambough