“Honestly, transwomen just look out for ourselves’’ Experiences of HIV Care in Sexual Health Clinics

Webster, Crystal and Bourne, Katy and Eastham, Rachael (2024) “Honestly, transwomen just look out for ourselves’’ Experiences of HIV Care in Sexual Health Clinics. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

This thesis presents two papers exploring the experiences of transwomen within healthcare systems: a meta-synthesis of the literature on the perceptions of physical healthcare providers of transwomen; an interpretive phenomenological analysis of the experience of 5 transwomen accessing sexual health services in the UK for HIV healthcare. In the first section, the meta-synthesis is presented, which reviewed 17 papers exploring on the perceptions of physical healthcare providers of transwomen. Four main themes were identified: (1) Healthcare providers' perceptions exist in the context of a cisnormative system, (2) The acceptability of transphobic and marginalising attitudes among healthcare providers, (3) Expected ways for Transwomen to exist, and (4) Education and Communication. The review also discussed clinical implications and the widespread nature of transphobia in healthcare settings. The empirical section of this thesis presents the experiences of 5 transwomen accessing sexual health services in the UK for HIV healthcare. Four main themes emerged during analysis: (1) Interpersonal Experiences of accessing healthcare for HIV, (2) The Practicalities of Accessing Healthcare for HIV, (3) “Honestly, transwomen like kind of just look out for ourselves.’’: The importance of connection to the community, and (4) Political and systemic influences on HIV healthcare. The final section offers a critical appraisal of the similarities and differences between the papers and the strengths and limitations of this thesis. The researcher’s motivations and place within the research are also discussed alongside suggestions for future research.