Nearly one-fifth of transgender or nonbinary individuals are denied gender-affirming care because of how they identify. On top of that, 50 percent say that due to lack of knowledge, they themselves have had to "teach their medical providers about transgender care," a report from the National LGBTQ Taskforce found.
As part of a compounding issue, it can also be more difficult for them to access needed care if they live in a rural area — and 16 percent do. Rural areas are typically much less likely to have transgender-inclusive laws and policies, which can negatively affect care for this population.
Simply living in a rural area increases their likelihood of being discriminated against by a healthcare provider to nearly 27 percent. This is even worse for transgender individuals of color, who experience discrimination in a rural healthcare setting at a rate of 33 percent.
Kaiser Health News reported that in an aim to address some of these issues, educational programming in partnership with medical schools has been one solution to promote better care in rural areas. In fact, one nonprofit based out of Colorado began offering monthly virtual classes on gender-affirming care to rural providers in 2020. The programming was in such demand, they expanded this to a four-week bootcamp the following year.