The Vital Role of Trans-led CBOs in Public Health Research and Efforts: An Example from TransSOCIAL, Inc.

Abstract

Transgender and gender diverse individuals experience high rates of economic marginalization, mental health concerns, substance use, and health issues.1 These disparities do not occur in a siloed manner, but rather, are interconnected and are driven by oppression, discrimination, and stigma. In other words, health equity for this community relies on multi-level intervention with heavy focus on sociostructural factors (e.g., housing, access to services, education, economic stability). These factors both produce and exacerbate health disparities.2 Public health programs and policy to address such drivers of health depend on data, and specifically, from samples that accurately represent the community and reflect their needs. Additionally, implementation of programs and services depend on community knowledge, reach, and uptake. Community based organizations (CBOs) specifically led by Trans and gender diverse community members are in a unique position to fulfill both data collection and implementation needs for public health programs to be most successful.