Mental health, substance use, experiences of violence, and access to health care among transgender and non-binary people during the COVID-19 lockdown in Argentina

Pablo D Radusky; Nadir Cardozo; Mariana Duarte; Solange Fabian; Emilia Frontini; Omar Sued; Ines Aristegui

doi:10.1080/26895269.2021.1943593

Mental health, substance use, experiences of violence, and access to health care among transgender and non-binary people during the COVID-19 lockdown in Argentina

Int J Transgend Health. 2021 Jul 21;24(3):320-333. doi: 10.1080/26895269.2021.1943593. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Pablo D Radusky^{1

2}, Nadir Cardozo^{1

3}, Mariana Duarte^{1

3}, Solange Fabian^{1

4}, Emilia Frontini¹, Omar Sued¹, Ines Aristegui^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ Research Department, Fundación Huésped, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
² Faculty of Psychology, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
³ Association of Transvestites, Transsexuals, and Transgenders of Argentina (A.T.T.T.A.), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
⁴ Asociación Civil Hotel Gondolin, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
⁵ Department of Research in Psychology, Universidad de Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Abstract

Background: Lockdown measures are effective to control COVID-19 spread; however, concerns have increased regarding its impact on transgender and non-binary people. Aims: This study describes self-reported changes in mental health, substance use, experiences of violence, and access to health care and basic services among transgender and non-binary population from Argentina after two months of implementation of the lockdown. Methods: An online national survey was responded by 182 participants (72 transfeminine [TF], 66 transmasculine [TM], 44 non-binary [NB] people) between May and June 2020. The questionnaire was informed by the results of focus groups, reviewed by activists, and disseminated through social media. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize data. Results: The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown have had a general negative impact on the participants. TF participants reported a greater proportion of negative changes in the socioeconomic aspect, such as reduction in income and barriers to access basic services (housing, food, hygiene products and financial assistance). TM and NB participants reported higher proportions of adverse psychological impact, with high frequencies of intense negative emotions and suicidal ideation. A general reduction in substance use was observed in the three groups. The most frequent source of violence in the three groups was from a family member, especially among NB participants. Half of the TF and TM individuals reported difficulties to access or continue their hormone therapy. TM and NB participants reported considerable barriers to access mental health care. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic and the prolonged lockdown have had a negative impact on the transgender and NB population, aggravating their preexisting situation of vulnerability and exclusion. Furthermore, this impact affected each subgroup differently in a particular and specific way.

Keywords: Argentina; COVID-19; health care; lockdown; mental health; non-binary; transgender.