Against the current: Addressing climate-induced health disparities in India's transgender community

Science Talks Pub Date : 2025-07-08 DOI:10.1016/j.sctalk.2025.100473

Gnana Sanga Mithra S

{"title":"Against the current: Addressing climate-induced health disparities in India's transgender community","authors":"Gnana Sanga Mithra S","doi":"10.1016/j.sctalk.2025.100473","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study inspects the unique climate change insights and vulnerabilities experienced by transgender individuals, with an emphasis on how gender identity intermediates environmental awareness and adaptive capacity. A cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted between January and March 2025 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, involving 167 self-identified transgender individuals recruited through convenience and snowball sampling methods, accomplishing a response rate of 91 %. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics, <em>t</em>-tests, and Pearson's correlation via SPSS v26. The results showed a health decline score among participants (M = 5.93, SD = 1.27) that was higher than general population norms (t (166) = 5.39, <em>p</em> < 0.001), signifying a discriminating health burden attributable to climate-related stressors. Besides, 79.04 % of respondents articulated a lack of sureness in healthcare provider's' competency concerning transgender-specific health concerns, and 60.47 % reported recurrent or persistent experiences of social isolation. Pearson's correlation analysis identified a statistically significant positive relationship between transgender identity-related stressors and increased apprehension toward climate threats (<em>r</em> = 0.61, <em>p</em> < 0.01).</div><div>In addition to quantitative findings, qualitative insights from open-ended responses highlighted three emergent themes: (1) Intersecting Marginalities in Climate Vulnerability, reflecting the layered disadvantages faced during environmental disruptions; (2) Systemic Healthcare Exclusion, emphasizing institutional unpreparedness to meet transgender health needs during crises; and (3) Identity-Driven Climate Awareness, representing a delicate sensitivity to climate risks shaped by social and political marginalization. These findings underscore the importance of recognizing transgender individuals as a distinct demographic within climate vulnerability assessments. The study advocates for the combination of marginalized voices in climate adaptation approaches and public health guidelines to guarantee inclusive, equitable, and responsive frameworks in the aspect of mounting environmental challenges.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101148,"journal":{"name":"Science Talks","volume":"15 ","pages":"Article 100473"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Science Talks","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772569325000556","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study inspects the unique climate change insights and vulnerabilities experienced by transgender individuals, with an emphasis on how gender identity intermediates environmental awareness and adaptive capacity. A cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted between January and March 2025 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, involving 167 self-identified transgender individuals recruited through convenience and snowball sampling methods, accomplishing a response rate of 91 %. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and Pearson's correlation via SPSS v26. The results showed a health decline score among participants (M = 5.93, SD = 1.27) that was higher than general population norms (t (166) = 5.39, p < 0.001), signifying a discriminating health burden attributable to climate-related stressors. Besides, 79.04 % of respondents articulated a lack of sureness in healthcare provider's' competency concerning transgender-specific health concerns, and 60.47 % reported recurrent or persistent experiences of social isolation. Pearson's correlation analysis identified a statistically significant positive relationship between transgender identity-related stressors and increased apprehension toward climate threats (r = 0.61, p < 0.01).

In addition to quantitative findings, qualitative insights from open-ended responses highlighted three emergent themes: (1) Intersecting Marginalities in Climate Vulnerability, reflecting the layered disadvantages faced during environmental disruptions; (2) Systemic Healthcare Exclusion, emphasizing institutional unpreparedness to meet transgender health needs during crises; and (3) Identity-Driven Climate Awareness, representing a delicate sensitivity to climate risks shaped by social and political marginalization. These findings underscore the importance of recognizing transgender individuals as a distinct demographic within climate vulnerability assessments. The study advocates for the combination of marginalized voices in climate adaptation approaches and public health guidelines to guarantee inclusive, equitable, and responsive frameworks in the aspect of mounting environmental challenges.

查看原文本刊更多论文

逆流而上：解决印度跨性别群体中气候导致的健康差异

本研究考察了跨性别个体对气候变化的独特见解和脆弱性，重点研究了性别认同如何影响环境意识和适应能力。本研究于2025年1月至3月在泰米尔纳德邦金奈市进行横断面定量调查，采用便利抽样和滚雪球抽样的方法招募167名自认为跨性别者，回答率为91%。采用结构化问卷收集数据，并通过SPSS v26进行描述性统计、t检验和Pearson相关分析。结果显示，参与者的健康衰退得分（M = 5.93, SD = 1.27）高于一般人群标准(t (166) = 5.39, p <；0.001)，表明可归因于气候相关压力源的歧视性健康负担。此外，79.04%的受访者明确表示对医疗保健提供者在跨性别特定健康问题方面的能力缺乏信心，60.47%的受访者报告了反复或持续的社会孤立经历。Pearson相关分析发现，与跨性别身份相关的压力源与对气候威胁的担忧增加之间存在统计学上显著的正相关关系(r = 0.61, p <；0.01)。除了定量研究结果外，开放式回答的定性见解还强调了三个新兴主题：(1)气候脆弱性的交叉边缘，反映了环境破坏期间面临的分层劣势；(2)系统性的医疗保健排斥，强调在危机期间，机构没有准备好满足跨性别者的健康需求；(3)身份驱动型气候意识，代表对社会和政治边缘化形成的气候风险的微妙敏感性。这些发现强调了在气候脆弱性评估中将跨性别者视为一个独特群体的重要性。该研究倡导将气候适应方法和公共卫生准则中的边缘化声音结合起来，以确保在日益严峻的环境挑战方面建立包容、公平和响应性的框架。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Science Talks

自引率

0.00%

发文量