Seeking gender-affirming medical care: A phenomenological inquiry on skillful coping with transgender and non-binary adults in the United States Midwest

Katie Heiden-Rootes; Dixie Meyer; Renata Sledge; Bryce K. Davis; Theresa Drallmeier; Whitney Linsenmeyer; Samantha Levine; Michelle R. Dalton

doi:10.4081/qrmh.2023.11485

Authors

Katie Heiden-Rootes
katie.heidenrootes@health.slu.edu
Department of Family & Community Medicine, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1887-7540
Dixie Meyer Department of Family & Community Medicine, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States.
Renata Sledge Department of Family & Community Medicine, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States.
Bryce K. Davis Clinical Psychology Program, Department of Psychology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6080-1350
Theresa Drallmeier Department of Family & Community Medicine, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States.
Whitney Linsenmeyer Doisy College of Health Science, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5939-250X
Samantha Levine Department of Family & Community Medicine, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8496-7918
Michelle R. Dalton Department of Family & Community Medicine, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States.

This study sought to understand how transgender and gender non-binary (TGNB) individuals skillfully cope with healthcare services and to explore how childhood experiences impact expectations, habits, and meaning-making when utilizing healthcare services. Using an interpretive phenomenological approach, we sampled 17, White TGNB adults in the United States, ages 19 to 57, using semi-structed interviews about childhood experiences with healthcare utilization and adult experiences seeking genderaffirming healthcare. Analysis identified one main theme—Anticipate the worst in healthcare and be pleasantly surprised—and three subthemes: i) contrast between positive childhood and negative adulthood experiences in medical care; ii) coping practices for the worst; and iii) finding your unicorn doctor and medical staff for pleasant experiences. Results indicate participants experienced a disruption and acquisition of new coping practices in healthcare settings and the cultivation of a radical imagination for a more liberated medical world for TGNB people. Implications for providers and medical offices for empowering TGNB adults are described.

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Heiden-Rootes, Katie, Dixie Meyer, Renata Sledge, Bryce K. Davis, Theresa Drallmeier, Whitney Linsenmeyer, Samantha Levine, and Michelle R. Dalton. 2023. “Seeking Gender-Affirming Medical Care: A Phenomenological Inquiry on Skillful Coping With Transgender and Non-Binary Adults in the United States Midwest”. Qualitative Research in Medicine and Healthcare 7 (3). https://doi.org/10.4081/qrmh.2023.11485.