Trans women’s experiences of accessing HIV related care.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Trans women’s experiences of accessing HIV related care.
IRAS ID
295744
Contact name
Charlotte Gould
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Royal Holloway University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 1 days
Research summary
Transgender women are an under-researched population and are more likely to be at risk of HIV due to social exclusion and a combination of risk factors affecting this population. In the UK, trans people have been largely ignored in HIV data until 2017 and have been confused with other populations, such as men who have sex with men. New data highlights that trans people with HIV are much more likely to have diagnosable mental health conditions, be suffering financial hardship, and have lower life satisfaction than people with HIV who are not transgender.
Trans women have been neglected from interview research, and there is limited data available on their experiences of accessing HIV related services and healthcare. What is known is that trans women are likely to perceive discrimination and delayed healthcare as well as potentially not taking medication as prescribed due to unwanted side effects. This means that trans women are at risk from poorer health outcomes both in terms of their HIV and gender affirming treatment.
The study aims to understand the experiences of trans women with HIV and their engagement in healthcare, informed by a model of health behaviour, namely the Situated-Information, Motivation, Behavioural Skills Model of Care Initiation and Maintenance (SIMB-CIM; Rivet, 2011) . Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with a sample of trans women living across the UK and Europe and analysed accordingly.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/NW/0246
Date of REC Opinion
12 Oct 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion