Disparities in access to family physicians among transgender people in Ontario,Canada

Background: Informed by the Gelberg-Andersen behavioral model for vulnerable populations, this study examined the prevalence of and factors associated with not having a family physician among transgender (trans) people in Ontario, Canada.

Methods: Data were drawn from a respondent-driven sampling (RDS) survey of trans Ontarians age 16 and above (n = 433) conducted between 2009 and 2010. All analyses were weighted using RDS II methods. Prevalence ratios were estimated using average marginal predictions from logistic regression models.

Results: An estimated 17.2% (95% CI, 11.0 to 22.9) of trans Ontarians (median age = 28.7, 77.3% White) did not have a regular family physician. In multivariable analyses accounting for other predisposing and need-related factors, transfeminine persons (trans women and non-binary persons assigned a male sex at birth) who were Indigenous and/or persons of color were less likely than other transfeminine persons to have a family doctor. In addition, trans persons who were homeless or had unstable housing were less likely to have a family doctor than those who were adequately housed.

Conclusions: These results provide the first quantitative evidence of health disparities by race and gender within a Canadian transgender population and suggest a social gradient in access to care within Ontario's “universal health insurance” system.