Trans* Youth and Young Adults in Healthcare: A Qualitative Study About Experiences, Challenges, and Wishes

The number of adolescents who present themselves to the healthcare system due to the aspect of trans* is rising internationally as well as nationally. Studies, especially from the international area, point next to appropriate treatment situations increasingly to aversively experienced situations. These are characterized by lack of knowledge of the professionals, incorrect naming and pronoun naming as well as inappropriate questions and comments. In order to shed light on the situation in Germany, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten adolescents and evaluated using qualitative content analysis. Overall, a balanced ratio of positive, appropriate and negative, aversive experiences emerged. Themes were gender-sensitive language, ways of interacting, support/networking and knowledge. The adolescents named parental support and connection to self-help groups as supportive instances in dealing with the healthcare system, but also mentioned structural hurdles such as long waiting times. Overall, the adolescents had a positive outlook on the future and would like to see a sensitization of healthcare workers. Educationalmeasures and further training should be implemented in order to meet these wishes and to ensure needs-based care for trans* adolescents.