Lessons Learned in Transgender Peer Navigation: A Year of Reflective Journaling

Gwen Rose, Ken Mullock, Elijah Gatin, T. Fayant-McLeod, Michelle C. E. McCarron, Megan Clark and Stéphanie J. Madill ()
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Gwen Rose: School of Rehabilitation Science, University of Saskatchewan, 104 Clinic Pl, Saskatoon, SK S7N 2Z4, Canada
Ken Mullock: Trans Sask Support Services, 429 9th St E, Prince Albert, SK S6V 0Y1, Canada
Elijah Gatin: Trans Sask Support Services, 429 9th St E, Prince Albert, SK S6V 0Y1, Canada
T. Fayant-McLeod: Trans Sask Support Services, 429 9th St E, Prince Albert, SK S6V 0Y1, Canada
Michelle C. E. McCarron: Centre for Kinesiology, Health and Sport, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada
Megan Clark: Academic Family Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 3311 Fairlight Dr, Saskatoon, SK S7M 3Y5, Canada
Stéphanie J. Madill: School of Rehabilitation Science, University of Saskatchewan, 104 Clinic Pl, Saskatoon, SK S7N 2Z4, Canada

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 5, 1-17

Abstract: People who are trans and gender-diverse are underserved by the healthcare system; one way to improve healthcare access is with peer healthcare navigators. We piloted two trans peer health navigators from April 2021 to March 2022 in a small Canadian province. The purpose of this study was to explore how trans peer navigators experienced their work and work environment through reflective journalling. The navigators journalled roughly weekly. They were encouraged to interrogate their own biases and to think about what was omitted from conversations with others. Each journal was treated as a qualitative case study, anonymized and analyzed thematically using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Six themes emerged: expected work, unexpected work, teamwork, lived experience, challenges, and systemic factors. These themes were complexly interwoven with a network of subthemes that frequently fell under multiple main themes and were highly emotionally charged, many both positively and negatively. The importance of navigators being transgender themselves was highlighted. The rewards came from being able to provide meaningful help to people in their community and the challenges came from not being respected by other healthcare providers and systemic barriers that prevented them from helping clients. The navigators successfully adapted their services to bridge some systemic barriers. This research has implications for improving both navigators’ and clients’ experiences.

Keywords: transgender; health services; equity-deserving populations; peer navigators; reflective journaling; program evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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