Franks, Nia (2021) Fostering Gender-IQ: Barriers and enablers to gender affirming behaviour amongst an Australian general practitioner cohort. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
The visible population of trans and gender diverse Australians has grown significantly in recent years. Trans and gender diverse access to primary healthcare however, is hindered by a lack of practitioner competency and structural stigmatisation. Research into gender affirming care by general practitioners (GPs) is sparse. A research gap addressed through qualitative enquiry of purposively selected gender affirming GPs to explore: barriers, enablers, and perspectives when treating trans and gender diverse patients. Reflexive thematic analysis facilitated a rich description of exemplary gender affirming primary care. Four themes for gender affirming attitudes, and behaviours among GPs were developed. Gatekeeping and hoop-jumping described structural competency, or specific knowledge of gender affirming treatment and referral pathways for trans and gender diverse patients. “Hi hon, I'm just here for my hormones” explored the nuanced ways in which gender affirming GPs applied their clinical expertise to benefit the patient. Man wallet, woman walnut considered cultural aspects of the clinical encounter, where gender affirming GPs go beyond competency, to companionship. Finally, “holy moly, it's just so rewarding” explored the professional fulfilment that gender affirming primary care provided for these GPs. A considerable gap was identified between the structural, clinical, and cultural behaviours among competent gender affirming GPs, and the majority of practitioners evidenced in the literature. Gender affirming practice should be taught as a core competency within medical curricula, and be required as professional development for GPs in the field, to ensure a beneficial clinical encounter for the trans and gender diverse population.
|
Statistics for this ePrint Item |
| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Amy Mullens; Annette Brömdal |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 11 Aug 2025 23:31 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Aug 2025 23:31 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | trans ; gender diverse ; general practitioner ; gender affirming primary care |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52330 |
Actions (login required)
 |
Archive Repository Staff Only |
