TRANS Health Navigator

Transgender and gender diverse people (and their support persons) in Saskatchewan were able to access a new client navigator service for assistance in accessing a number of healthcare needs. The service was part of a research project to improve healthcare experiences for transgender and gender diverse people.

Explore our website for more information on what this means and what services the health navigators provided. Further questions will be happily answered by our primary investigator!

What kinds of services were accessible through a TRANS Health Navigator?

TRANS Health Navigators could help with anything related to healthcare services and accessing resources for trans folks, including:

  • Learning about support groups
  • Assistance with name changes
  • Assistance with changing gender markers
  • Finding gender affirming products
  • Process for starting hormones
  • Process for getting referrals
  • Finding trans-friendly doctors & setting up appointments
  • Accompaniment for doctor appointments (depending on COVID-19 restrictions)

The TRANS Health Navigator was also available for:

  • Healthcare professionals/organizations looking for resources and/or presentations on ways to facilitate safe spaces and care for trans and gender diverse clients

The TRANS project is a Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation/Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research Sprout grant-funded community-based research project piloting two peer health navigators for people who are trans and gender diverse in Saskatchewan. The project is in partnership with the Saskatchewan Trans Health Coalition and community-based organization partners, URPride and OUTSaskatoon.

Research Components of the TRANS Project

  • Baseline focus groups with people who are trans and gender diverse on experiences accessing or trying to access healthcare in Saskatchewan
  • Brief post-navigator service surveys
  • Navigator access data
  • Post-service interviews with clients and healthcare providers who work with the navigators
  • Narrative analysis of navigators’ anonymized journal entries on their reflections on their work

Planned Outputs of the TRANS Project

  • A knowledge translation event with the Saskatchewan Trans Health Coalition and community-based organization partners
  • Public outreach through website posts and media releases
  • A policy paper for the Ministry of Health
  • Academic publications and presentations