Overcoming the barriers in transgender healthcare in rural Ontario: discourses of personal agency, resilience, and empowerment

Abstract

Abstract This study qualitatively explores the barriers that transgender individuals experience within healthcare settings in rural Ontario. It includes an analysis of how transgender individuals overcome these barriers, as well as the methods by which healthcare interactions can be strengthened to increase their experiences of personal agency. Twelve transgender individuals and three healthcare professionals in rural Ontario participated in open‐ended, semi‐structured interviews, which were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis and critical discourse analysis. Together these analyses yielded insights on themes pertaining to the breaching of human rights in healthcare interactions; rural challenges experienced by transgender patients in Ontario; the effects of non‐reciprocal relationships on trans‐patients’ experiences of personal agency, autonomy, and mental health; and factors contributing to their overall resiliency and empowerment. Potential transgender healthcare models and directions for future research are also discussed.