Culturally Competent Treatment Of Transgender In Nursing

Introduction

In the field of nursing, one of the most important aspects is to be sure to be aware of other cultures and to be culturally diverse. Cultural diversity can be defined as “the coexistence of different ethnic, biological sex, racial, and socioeconomic groups within one social unit” (Taylor, Lynn, & Bartlett, 2019 p. 81). Nurses must be able to deliver care to their patients that is culturally competent, meaning that they must be aware of cultural factors when delivering care and they must do it in a respectful way. The term transgender refers to any person who feels their gender assigned to them at birth does not match up with their gender identity. The following paper will address topics such as statistics, family structure, workforce issues, bio cultural, and healthcare resources related to transgender people.

Statistics

According to a 2016 survey, the United States is home to approximately 1. 4 million transgender people. This equals out to be about 0. 6% of the total U. S. population at the time. Of this particular group, the majority consists of individuals identifying as transgender between the ages of 18-24, followed by individuals between the ages of 25-65, and lastly followed by the age group of 65 and older (Cutler-Seeber, 2018). The transgender community is widespread throughout the United States, not necessarily all residing in specific locations.

Family Structure

Throughout time, it was believed that once coming out as transgender or beginning their transition, the relationships these individuals had built would fail due to this change in gender role. It was also thought that individuals who stayed with their partner while he or she was transitioning had a fixation or fascination with the idea of being transgender and were often viewed as insufficient or that their willingness to stay with a transitioning individual was pathological. Contrarily, a survey conducted in 2017 proved this previous thought to be inaccurate. In fact, results showed that approximately one third of the trans women surveyed disclosed that they were still in the same relationship they were in prior to transitioning and over half of the men surveyed reported the same. Transitioning can still bring some challenges within a family however, including questions about sexual orientation for both partners involved, or questions regarding gender role and how to adjust to these new roles. Often times, living in a hetero-normative society, transgender parents struggle to gain custody of their children, which can put a strain on their family dynamics as well.