Creating an LGBTI specific health service for the transgender community in South Australia

Abstract:

The LGBTI community has many challenges that they face above and beyond the everyday health issues that we confront in the general sexual and reproductive health stream. The statistics for the LGBTI population demonstrate that they have the one of the highest rate of suicide of any population in Australia. Research with the transgender population is even higher with some UK statistics of up to 50% of Trans people having attempted suicide. As a health executive leading a sexual and reproductive health organisation there are many challenges in meeting the population needs for the diverse LGBTI population and specifically the transgender population. On establishing a small response to the transgender population, the organisation soon realised that the service demand was quickly outstripping the services available. This paper explores the service planning from a health administration perspective as well as the clinical needs of this population group and the challenges that are faced in establishing such a service in cons trained financial environments. As a state organisation, the challenges become how we extend our services to rural communities where LGBTI services are limited or non- existent. Rurality is a barrier to accessing health services generally, but when it comes to highly specialised services for the transgender population, this challenge is heightened. A population service planning approach highlighted the need for 3 key services that would assist rural T rans people to be supported. Firstly: general practitioners require clinical support and education to meet the needs of the transgender person. Targeted education webinars and telephone support are acceptable approaches for rural doctor s. Secondly: providing counselling support through telemedicine so that people do not wish to leave their homes or cannot make the journey to a clinic, can gain assistance through teleconferencing sessions with a clinical psychologist. Thirdly: peer -to-peer telemedicine support services where a T rans person in a small country can speak with someone from the trans community who understands the personal challenges.