Press Release N°61/2021 Wellbeing and health of transgender individuals: national survey of general practitioners

ISS, November 19th 2021 - 

Pierdominici: "Family doctors are trusted figures, an alliance with them is essential, we want to cooperate in their training because they play a key role in reducing isolation and loneliness"
Cricelli: "The peculiarities of each patient are always an opportunity for treatment for the general practitioner"
Brogonzoli: "We need a snapshot of the current situation so as to provide doctors with adequate tools"

More thorough knowledge is needed about the health issues of transgender individuals. This is what has emerged from the preliminary data of a survey promoted by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità – ISS (Italian National Institute of Health) in collaboration with the Careggi University Hospital, The Bridge Foundation and ONIG according to which about 40% of transgender individuals interviewed stated that health professionals have little knowledge about transgender health issues. This finding is in line with other surveys carried out in the rest of Europe.

It is for this reason that training on the subject of the well-being and health of transgender individuals for general practitioners, key figures in the delivery of health care, has become one of the objectives of the project of the Centre of Reference for Gender Medicine of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, in collaboration with the National Office against Racial Discrimination (UNAR) - Presidency of the Council of Ministers and with the support of The Bridge Foundation.

In order to better achieve the training objectives, a national survey was developed aimed at verifying the levels of knowledge that general practitioners have about the subject. A questionnaire drawn up in collaboration with the Italian Society of General and Primary Care Medicine (SIMG) will be distributed tomorrow to all the participants of the 38th National Conference of the SIMG. After completing the questionnaire, participants will be able to download in digital format the book, "Lives lived and life paths", edited by the ISS, created with the aim of raising awareness and disseminating information about the well-being and health of transgender people. The book will shortly be downloadable from the ISS portal and from the infotrans.it website.

The role of general practitioners, who have never before been offered ad hoc training in this area, is, on the other hand, extremely valuable since they represent key figures in delivering care to patients and their families”, says Marina Pierdominici, researcher at the ISS Centre of Reference for Gender Medicine, “An alliance with general practitioners is therefore essential: making them more aware of the health problems that affect the well-being and health of the transgender population means reducing part of the 'isolation and the suffering that this segment of the population may experience”.

Claudio Cricelli, president of the Italian Society of General and Primary Care Medicine (SIMG) said, "The SIMG welcomes with great interest the invitation to participate in the ISS initiative aimed at promoting events dedicated to the health of transgender people, initially through the administration of a questionnaire addressed to General Practitioners. A healthcare system that is "sensitive" to individual differences with a person-centred approach has always been the cornerstone of the doctor-patient relationship and a distinctive feature of the family doctor. In fact, it is above all the family doctor who, before any other healthcare professional, comes into contact with the diversity and peculiarities of each patient and can transform them into an opportunity for treatment. The clinical stories that guide the family doctor in defining a prevention and treatment approach dedicated to this group of patients is an exclusive task. Refining knowledge and knowing the differences so as to transform them into opportunities for professional growth at the service of the entire population has always been the goal of the SIMG. This is undoubtedly a challenge, but it is in line with social changes. "

Luisa Brogonzoli, head of the Study Centre of The Bridge Foundation, further emphasizes that “transgender individuals state that health professionals are prejudiced against them. There is a lack of knowledge and no training for healthcare professionals. All this runs the risk of creating a vicious circle which is not attributable to a lack of attention and mutual trust; it is therefore necessary to start from a snapshot of the current situation and then provide the appropriate tools".