Falling Between the Cracks: Compound Identity Discrimination Within Primary Healthcare

Abstract

Canadian primary care physicians (PCPs) are ill-equipped to support transgender and/or gender non-conforming (TGNC) people and also racialized people, with the majority of these professionals reporting little or no education about the nuances of either TGNC or racialized peoples’ health. As a result, individuals who possess both of these marginalized identities often have their healthcare needs neglected. Multiple stakeholders have called for training programs to expand medical health curricula; however, input from racialized TGNC people is necessary for the enhancement of physician education. The current study explores racialized TGNC peoples’ experiences with their PCP using qualitative interviewing. A total of 10 participants (n = 10) were asked to discuss their positive and negative experiences. The emergent themes of this study are medical mistreatment acceptance, mirrored positive and negative experiences, attribution errors placed on PCPs, and critical engagement with identity from patients. From the emergent themes, I develop a theoretical framework for PCPs to recognize the diverse lived experiences and knowledges of patients by providing a novel approach to anti-oppressive health care.