Mental health nursing for transgender people: are we caring?
Intended for healthcare professionals
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Mental health nursing for transgender people: are we caring?

Marie Brady Nurse educator, St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia
Luke Molloy Senior lecturer, School of Nursing, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

Transgender people experience widespread prejudice in society and health professionals are often complicit in this discrimination. Transgender people are at a greater risk of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide than the majority of the population. This article presents a literature review that explores issues for mental health nursing and the care of transgender people. The literature identifies that nurses display negative assumptions about transgender people, there is a lack of appropriate education and limited evidence to support practice. Mental health nurses have extensive experience in caring for stigmatised populations; with appropriate knowledge and education, a healthcare environment can be provided that is open, welcoming and safe to transgender people, and steps can be made towards closing the gap in healthcare disparities.

Mental Health Practice. 21, 05, 28-33. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2018.e1223

Correspondence

Marie.Brady@svha.org.au

Peer review

This article has been subject to double blind peer review

Conflict of interest

None declared

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Received: 22 October 2016

Accepted: 18 July 2017

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