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Summary: Policy protections for transgender adults in the United States are consistently associated with positive health outcomes. However, studies over-represent non-Latinx, white transgender people and obscure variation in policies’ intended goals. This study examined racial differences in the relationship between transgender-related policies and transgender women’s self-rated health.
Researchers hypothesized that policies conferring access to resources (e.g., health care) would be associated with better self-rated health among all participants while policies signifying equality (e.g., nondiscrimination laws) would be associated with better self-rated health only for white participants.
Using cross-sectional data collected between March 2018–December 2020 from 1,566 transgender women, authors analyzed 7 state-level ‘access policies,’ 5 ‘equality policies,’ and sum indices of each. Participants represented 29 states, and 54.7% were categorized as people of color.
Summary: Policy protections for transgender adults in the United States are consistently associated with positive health outcomes. However, studies over-represent non-Latinx, white transgender people and obscure variation in policies’ intended goals. This study examined racial differences in the relationship between transgender-related policies and transgender women’s self-rated health.
Researchers hypothesized that policies conferring access to resources (e.g., health care) would be associated with better self-rated health among all participants while policies signifying equality (e.g., nondiscrimination laws) would be associated with better self-rated health only for white participants.
Using cross-sectional data collected between March 2018–December 2020 from 1,566 transgender women, authors analyzed 7 state-level ‘access policies,’ 5 ‘equality policies,’ and sum indices of each. Participants represented 29 states, and 54.7% were categorized as people of color.