Health care for transgender and gender nonconforming children and adolescents: perspectives of family members and health professionals on health care practices

• Grant number: 22/04682-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2022
• Status: Discontinued
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health
• Principal Investigator: Rosana Machin Barbosa
• Grantee: Júlia Clara de Pontes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/04912-9 - Healthcare and service utilization for transgender and gender-diverse children and adolescents in Brazil, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

In the last 10 years, there has been a significant increase of demand for specialized health care for transgender children and adolescents in several countries, including Brazil. Despite the existence of international guidelines and protocols about gender-related demands in childhood and adolescence, the consideration of the most appropriate health practices remains under debate in the health field. According to the scientific literature, different meanings and values about childhood and adolescence, health-disease and transsexuality interfere in the services consolidation and in the adopted health practices. Therefore, this research's objective is to understand the sociocultural aspects that guide the definition of health practices. This is an ethnographic orientation research, planned to be conducted in specialized health services for transgender or gender nonconforming children and adolescents. It adopts participant observation and in-depth interviews with health professionals and family members as its techniques. The perspective of health professionals and family members of the children and adolescents assisted is privileged, given their technical-scientific and legal authority in the decision about health procedures. This study plans to contribute to the understanding of the sociocultural aspects that interfere in the health care of transgender and gender nonconforming children and adolescents in the Brazilian context and, therefore, with the improvement of care for this group.