Health access for transgender people in Latin America: a scoping review protocol

Abstract

Background Globally, trans people face barriers in living with society due to cis-heteronormative standards that impair access to healthcare. Objective: This study aims to map and analyze the literature to elucidate if access to health services and goods meets the health needs of transgender persons in Latin America. The study will describe the factors that impact health access for transgender persons in the area, the differences and similarities between the access in the region's countries, and the factors that justify them. The results will characterize the Latin American health access capacity, strengths, and difficulties in meeting the needs and rights of that group. Materials and methods: This review consists of a search in PubMed, SciELO, and LILACS databases on the health of transgender people in Latin America and, after, the selection of the controls and included articles. The selection of studies occurs in three stages, conducted in pairs of researchers: reading the title, reading the abstract, and floating the complete text, according to inclusion criteria. There is no language restriction. The pair of researchers will conduct data extraction by filling in the extraction framework information of each study. Data synthesis comprises the categorization of the data. The analysis takes place from the perspective of three factors of access to health: enabling factors, health needs, and individual health behaviors. Data analysis comprises the application of quantitative measures in the data overview and subsequent qualitative analysis of the major categories. The review will present a narrative summary of the findings. The protocol was built based on the instructions from the Joanna Briggs Institute Scoping (JBI) Reviews Manual. Reports follow the Scoping Reviews framework PRISMA-ScR. Discussion: Findings will provide subsidies to improve healthcare services for transgender persons, construct public policy in the Latin American region, and further scientific production. Protocol registration number osf.io/7rjat/