TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Australian trans community
AU - Zwickl, Sav
AU - Angus, Lachlan M.
AU - Qi, Alex Wong Fang
AU - Ginger, Ariel
AU - Eshin, Kalen
AU - Cook, Teddy
AU - Leemaqz, Shalem Y.
AU - Dowers, Eden
AU - Zajac, Jeffrey D.
AU - Cheung, Ada S.
N1 - Funding Information:
ASC is supported by an Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Fellowship [#1143333] and The University of Melbourne Dame Kate Campbell Fellowship. LMA is supported by the Research Training Program Scholarship from the Australian Commonwealth Government. The authorship team includes trans people of diverse genders including female, male, and non-binary. Authors would like to thank MCATS (Melbourne Clinical and Translational Sciences research platform), for the administrative and technical support that greatly facilitated this research.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Background: Trans and gender diverse individuals (people who identify with a gender different to what was presumed for them at birth) are one of the most medically and socially marginalized groups in our community. The COVID-19 pandemic may compound preexisting depression and thoughts of self-harm or suicide. Aim: We aimed to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Australian trans community. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted between 1st May 2020 and 30th June 2020, amidst strict Australia-wide social restrictions. Australian trans people aged ≥16 years were eligible to participate. Survey questions explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on living situation, employment, financial situation, and healthcare. Logistic regression to assess negative impacts due to COVID-19 on depression and thoughts of self-harm or suicide (measured by Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) are presented as odds ratios (95% confidence interval)). Results: Of 1019 participants, 49.6% reported experiencing financial strain, 22% had reduced working hours, and 22.4% were unemployed (three times the national rate). Concerningly, 61.1% experienced clinically significant symptoms of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score ≥10), considerably higher than pre-COVID rates for the trans community and over twice the national rate. Moreover, 49% reported thoughts of self-harm or suicide (over three times the national rate) which was more likely if a person experienced cancelation or postponement of gender-affirming surgery (OR 1.56 (1.04, 2.35)), financial strain (OR 1.80 (1.36, 2.38)), or felt unsafe or afraid in their household (OR 1.96 (1.23, 3.08)). Discussion: Given rates of clinically significant depression and thoughts of self-harm or suicide are far higher in trans people than the general population, specific strategies to improve mental health in the trans community during the COVID-19 pandemic must be made a priority for policymakers, researchers, and health service providers to prevent suicide. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2021.1890659.
AB - Background: Trans and gender diverse individuals (people who identify with a gender different to what was presumed for them at birth) are one of the most medically and socially marginalized groups in our community. The COVID-19 pandemic may compound preexisting depression and thoughts of self-harm or suicide. Aim: We aimed to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Australian trans community. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted between 1st May 2020 and 30th June 2020, amidst strict Australia-wide social restrictions. Australian trans people aged ≥16 years were eligible to participate. Survey questions explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on living situation, employment, financial situation, and healthcare. Logistic regression to assess negative impacts due to COVID-19 on depression and thoughts of self-harm or suicide (measured by Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) are presented as odds ratios (95% confidence interval)). Results: Of 1019 participants, 49.6% reported experiencing financial strain, 22% had reduced working hours, and 22.4% were unemployed (three times the national rate). Concerningly, 61.1% experienced clinically significant symptoms of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score ≥10), considerably higher than pre-COVID rates for the trans community and over twice the national rate. Moreover, 49% reported thoughts of self-harm or suicide (over three times the national rate) which was more likely if a person experienced cancelation or postponement of gender-affirming surgery (OR 1.56 (1.04, 2.35)), financial strain (OR 1.80 (1.36, 2.38)), or felt unsafe or afraid in their household (OR 1.96 (1.23, 3.08)). Discussion: Given rates of clinically significant depression and thoughts of self-harm or suicide are far higher in trans people than the general population, specific strategies to improve mental health in the trans community during the COVID-19 pandemic must be made a priority for policymakers, researchers, and health service providers to prevent suicide. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2021.1890659.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Coronavirus
KW - depression
KW - suicidality
KW - transgender
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85102499036&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/26895269.2021.1890659
DO - 10.1080/26895269.2021.1890659
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85102499036
SN - 2689-5269
VL - 24
SP - 281
EP - 291
JO - International Journal of Transgender Health
JF - International Journal of Transgender Health
IS - 3
ER -