Project 454720

Trans and non-binary (TNB) people are individuals whose gender does not correspond with the gender they were assigned at birth. TNB people - in particular, people of Colour (PoC) - experience minority stress and are marginalized in research and healthcare. Among immigrants and PoC, biculturalism, discrimination and having TNB identity are linked to stress and avoidance of healthcare services. TNB immigrants also experience stress and discrimination through the settlement process. Trans PULSE Canada (TPC) is a community-based study of health and wellbeing, which collected data from 2,873 TNB people across Canada. Using TPC data, I will investigate factors predicting health and service access among TNB immigrants. Analyses will assess how health and healthcare access are impacted by income and employment, racialization, anticipated discrimination, social integration and trans-specific experiences with immigration services. Racialized newcomers reporting trans-negative experiences with immigration services are expected to be more likely to have precarious employment, healthcare avoidance and reduced likelihood of having a primary healthcare provider compared to non-racialized newcomers or individuals reporting positive settlement experiences. Reports of precarious employment, low social integration and anticipated discrimination will predict worse health, increased healthcare avoidance and not having a healthcare provider. This research will explore which domains of services may predict social integration, employment security, health and healthcare access. Results will be disseminated through open-access reports, infographics and peer-reviewed articles. Findings will provide information on immigration services and factors predicting health and healthcare access among TNB immigrants. This research will inform researchers, healthcare providers and policy makers on health barriers with the objective to dismantle these barriers and improve wellbeing in this population.