TRANSALUD: A qualitative study of the healthcare experiences of transgender people in Barcelona (Spain).

Transgender identities are still considered a psychiatric pathology in many countries according to the prevailing biomedical model. However, in recent years, this pathologizing vision has begun to shift towards a perspective that focuses on the diversity of transgender peoples' experiences. However, some transgender people still face denial of services, discrimination, harassment, and even violence by healthcare professionals, causing them to avoid seeking ongoing or preventive healthcare. This article describes the health experiences of transgender people in Barcelona regarding their access and use of non-specialized health services. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using a descriptive phenomenological approach with sixteen transgender people between December 2018 and July 2019. The data were analyzed descriptively and thematically following the method proposed by Colaizzi with the help of the Atlas.ti8 software. Transgender people care experiences were divided into three categories: overcoming obstacles, training queries, and coping strategies. Participants identified negative experiences and difficulties with the health system due to healthcare providers' lack of competence. Discriminatory, authoritarian, and paternalist behaviors are still present and hinder the therapeutic relationship, care, and access to healthcare services. There is a fundamental need for the depathologization of transgender reality and training for healthcare professionals in the field of sexual diversity. Training in sexual and gender diversity must be included in the curricula of university courses in the health sciences.

The Experience of Growing Old While Living With HIV in Spain: A Phenomenological Study.

HIV infection has transformed from a deadly disease into a chronic infection with low mortality. Using descriptive phenomenology, this study was designed to describe the lived experience of aging among persons living with HIV in Spain. Twenty-four participants ages 50 years or older were interviewed. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi's method. Aging with HIV made participants aware of the process of growing old, a stage of life they never expected to reach. They acknowledged the physical changes their bodies were undergoing, mostly due to the HIV and as a consequence of antiretroviral therapy. Most participants had financial problems and felt lonely. The participants highlighted how others had positively and negatively influenced their lives and, finally, how they learned to cope and then to accept living with HIV infection, be ready to help peers, and fight against discrimination. More research is needed to reduce loneliness, evaluate the impact of financial problems on health, and identify barriers and facilitators for adaptation, coping, and resilience in persons living with HIV ages 50 years or older.