The Year in Transgender Health

From the high-profile but ultimately disappointing transition of Caitlyn Jenner to the excellent media representations of the transgender community by Laverne Cox, Janet Mock and their peers, to the everyday struggle of transgender folks in our own communities, it's been a very visible year for the transgender struggle.

But have things really gotten better? There are still very high rates of depression, drug abuse, suicide and HIV infection. Here's a look at some of the advances that have helped the trans community improve their health and their lives in 2015.

LA's St. John's Center Remembers Transgender People Lost to Violence: St. John's Well Child and Family Center has observed discrimination and degradation against the transgender community, and created and implemented the Transgender Health Program (THP), the only Los Angeles community clinic with a comprehensive transgender-focused health program. Read more here.

Are Transgender Veterans At Greater Risk of Suicide?:Veterans of the U.S. armed forces who have received a diagnosis consistent with transgender status are more likely to have serious suicidal thoughts and plans to attempt suicide. A new study shows that this group has a higher risk of suicide death than the general population of veterans, as described in an article in LGBT Health, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. Read more here.

RAD Remedy Launches Health Database for Queer/Trans Communities: RAD Remedy announced the open beta launch of the Referral Aggregator Database (RAD), a Yelp-style database designed specifically to connect trans, gender non-conforming, intersex, and queer people to safe, affirming, and comprehensive care nationwide. This project is the first of RAD Remedy's initiatives that address the significant health disparities and care barriers faced by these communities. Read more here.

CDC Dedicates $185M to Prevent HIV Among Trans and MSM:
The programs are part of a multi-pronged strategy to address the disproportionally heavy burden of HIV infection on MSM and transgender men and women. These programs will help health departments and local HIV prevention partners deliver and apply the most effective HIV prevention tools.
Read more here.

HIV Equal and Triangle Community Center Celebrate Transgender Self-Care: "A Transgender Self-Care event is important in small communities such as ours here in Fairfield County because it emphasizes that no one is alone out there, and that there are places such as TCC and CIRCLE CARE Center that provide support and services to everyone in the LGBTQ Community," said Dr. A.C. Demidont, CIRCLE CARE Center's Adult and Adolescent Infectious Diseases & HIV Medicine specialist who also provides services related to LGBQ and Transgender Healthcare. Read more here.

CAP Report Shows Difficulties Facing Transgender Teens: Youth homelessness in America is nearing epidemic levels, and the problem among the transgender community is disproportionately acute. At least one in five transgender young people have experienced homelessness, and many of them have encountered discrimination, harassment, and abuse in shelters and other services meant to serve as safe spaces when there is nowhere else to go. Read more here.

Camp Aranu'tiq Enrolls Transgender Youth for Summer Season: Summer camp is a rite of passage for many children, but for those who identify as transgender, it can be a harrowing ordeal. Many camps won't even allow them to register, not knowing how to handle bunk assignments and gender-segregated bathrooms. But now, transgender and gender-variant kids have a summer camp just for them: Camp Aranu'tiq. Read more here.

Transgender Adolescents More Likely to Be Depressed: A new study based on data from the Sidney Borum Jr. Health Center shows what a handful of local and regional studies on transgender youth have long suggested: Transgender youth have disparately negative mental health outcomes compared to non-transgender youth. Read more here.

NYC Health Dept. Battles Parental Rejection with Pro-LGBT Ad Campaign: "Transgender youth are a population that experiences inequity and bias to a level often difficult to comprehend," said Demetre Daskalakis, Assistant Commissioner for the Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control at the New York City Health Department. "Supporting these youth with positive messages is an important step to affirm that their lives matter." Read more here.

Basic Needs Unmet for Transgender HIV-Infected Women: A new CDC study that combines three years of data to produce nationally representative estimates characterizing HIV-infected adults receiving care in the U.S. shows that those who identify as transgender women are significantly less likely to adhere to anti-HIV medication regimens and to achieve viral suppression. Read more here.

Report Says Health Care Costs for Transgender Military Is Minimal: A new study published on August 12 in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine finds that the cost of providing transition-related health care for transgender service members will be minimal after the Pentagon lifts its ban.
Read more here.

Leaders Gather in Chicago to Address Violence Against Transgender Community: "Last year, 12 trans women of color were (reported) brutally murdered in a six-month time-span as our nation's largest LGBT organizations celebrated the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion now known as PRIDE," said Lourdes Hunter of the Trans Women of Color Collective. "This year, there have been at least eight (reported) murders of trans women of color and six (reported) deaths by suicide of trans youth. Now more than ever, our communities are in need of healing, fellowship, to be held and to come together to address the physical and structural violence we face every day."
Read more here.

Transgender Women Feminize Their Feet Through Surgery?: Dr. Suzanne Levine, an accomplished podiatrist on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, has seen a new trend with patients coming into her office. As someone who's been in the foot business for over 20 years, it's hard to catch Dr. Levine off guard. But this trend is indicative of something bigger happening in America today. Levine explains, "Trans women are coming in, more often pre-op than post, asking about how they can feminize their feet." Read more here.

Could Transwoman Be Implanted With Artificial Uterus?: Dramatic breakthroughs in medical science could change the transgender world as we know it. A recent uterine transplant at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, together with in-vitro fertilization, resulted in the birth of a healthy and fully developed child, carried to term by its birth mother. The procedure, initially developed to aid infertile women, may one day be applicable for male-to-female transgender women as well. Read more here

City and Private Sector Must Secure Jobs for Transgenders: On December 8 at the Duestche Bank building on Wall Street, actress Laverne Cox, activist Cece McDonald�and Queens-based organizer Lala Zannell joined First Lady Chirlane McCray for the Transgender Economic Empowerment Forum. The event featured a job fair with recruitment and employment resource tables. Participants stressed that trans New Yorkers need jobs, and it's the city and private sector's responsibility to make that happen. Read more here.

World Leaving MSM and Trans Behind in Fight Against HIV/AIDS: In a new report published on World AIDS Day, the ONE Campaign sounded the alarm about a growing complacency in the global fight against HIV/AIDS and warned that the fight will be unwinnable if especially vulnerable populations, including men who have sex with men and transgender women, continue to be underserved. Read more here.