Exploring Transgender Legal Name Change as a Potential Structural Intervention for Mitigating Social Determinants of Health Among Transgender Women of Color

Brandon J. Hill, Richard Crosby, Alida Bouris, Rayna Brown, Trevor Bak, Kris Rosentel, Alicia VandeVusse, Michael Silverman, Laura Salazar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

54 Scopus citations

Abstract

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the effects of legal name change on socioeconomic factors, general and transgender-related health care access and utilization, and transgender-related victimization in a sample of young transgender women (transwomen) of color. A cross-sectional group comparison approach was used to assess the potential effects of legal name change. A convenience sample of young transwomen enrolled in a no-cost legal name change clinic were recruited to complete a 30-min interviewer-guided telephone survey including sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors, health and well-being, health care utilization, transgender transition-related health care, and transgender-related victimization. Sixty-five transgender women of color (37 = pre-name change group, 28 = post-name change group) completed the survey. Results indicated that the transwomen in the post-name change group were significantly older than the pre-name change group. In age-adjusted analyses, the post-name change group was significantly more likely to have a higher monthly income and stable housing than the pre-name change group. No significant differences were observed for general health care utilization; however, a significantly greater percentage of transwomen in the pre-name change group reported postponing medical care due to their gender identity. In addition, a significantly larger proportion of transwomen in the pre-name change group reported using non-prescribed hormones injected by friends and experiencing verbal harassment by family and friends compared to transwomen in the post-name change group. Findings suggest that legal name change may be an important structural intervention for low-income transwomen of color, providing increased socioeconomic stability and improved access to primary and transition-related health care.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)25-33
Number of pages9
JournalSexuality Research and Social Policy
Volume15
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Keywords

  • Transgender
  • Transgender health
  • Transgender rights
  • Transgender victimization
  • Transition-related health care

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Gender Studies
  • Health(social science)
  • Sociology and Political Science

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