Transgender Health and HIV Prevention: Needs Assessment Studies from Transgender Communities Across the United States

Get the latest assessment of the health needs of the transgender population The impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the transgender community has been tragically ignored, and as yet there is surprisingly little research data on the subject of health care and HIV prevention in this marginalized population. Transgender Health and HIV Prevention fills this void by providing a groundbreaking empirical assessment of the health needs of transgender persons in several areas around the United States. Respected experts discuss issues that hinder the effectiveness of HIV prevention programs, including housing, mental health, and employment, as well as the unique broader problems of social stigma, discrimination, and the lack of transgender knowledge and sensitivity on the part of health providers and prevention workers. Even though recent studies show estimated HIV infection rates to be as much as 60 percent among specific transgender populations in the United States, the transgender community continues to receive inadequate healthcare support. Transgender Health and HIV Prevention tackles the problems inherent in the healthcare system by first assessing the needs of transgender persons, then offering specific practical recommendations for remedy. Top researchers in partnership with community members in San Francisco, Houston, Washington DC, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, New England, San Juan, and Minneapolis/St. Paul bring empirical data together to assess what has to be done to effectively stem the HIV epidemic. This essential resource is extensively referenced with several tables to clarify data. Transgender Health and HIV Prevention explores in detail: health and social services needs of African-Americans, Latinas, and Asian/Pacific Islanders sources for the high rates of HIV infection among male-to-female transgender persons the prevalence of physical and sexual violence, substance abuse, and unemployment in the transgender community risk behaviors of male-to-female transgender persons health care providers' ignorance, insensitivity, and discrimination--with training strategies to increase patient access and effectiveness of care how traditional notions about femininity affect risk behaviors a comparison between transgender persons and other sexual minorities Transgender Health and HIV Prevention is crucial, one-of-a-kind reading for educators, students, researchers, public health professionals, social workers, health care providers, HIV/AIDS caregivers, and prevention workers.