Distance Traveled to Access Knowledgeable Trans-Related Healthcare Providers

Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals experience a variety of disparities regarding healthcare and healthcare access. While many of these disparities are interpersonal, such as discrimination and experiences of violence at the hands of medical providers, there are also systemic issues that contribute to these inequities. One such issue is that of finding and accessing providers who are knowledgeable about trans-related care. This study examines how far TGD people are traveling to access providers with more trans-related health knowledge and explores gender differences regarding distance traveled. Data from the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey are used, with an analytic sample of N = 5,639. Findings from the chi-square tests of independence and logistic regressions indicate there is a relationship between highly knowledgeable care and distance traveled, such that certain groups of TGD individuals (across race, income level, and educational achievement) are taking on the burden of having to travel further in order to access the most knowledgeable healthcare providers, with few significant differences across genders. Overall, 34.5% of TGD individuals have to travel over 25 miles to access providers knowledgeable about trans-related care. While much of the discussion about increasing trans-affirming healthcare has centered on reducing interpersonal issues, the hardship potentially caused by traveling further to get knowledgeable care should certainly be part of this conversation.