Impact of COVID-19 and Lockdown on Health and Livelihoods of Transgender Individuals in Hyderabad, Telangana

Abstract

To combat the coronavirus disease which claimed lot of lives globally, India went into a complete lockdown starting March 24, 2020. This study examines the impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on one of the vulnerable groups of populations, that is, transgender people’s livelihoods, health-seeking behavior along with their perceived health-care barriers, and accessibility to health-care services. A cross-sectional descriptive study with mixed methods approach for qualitative data was done in Hyderabad city. Eighty transgender participants identified through snowball sampling method were subjected to structured interviews and 30 among them were chosen randomly and were also subjected to in-depth semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using MS Excel and thematic analysis. The COVID-19 lockdown has affected target group’s livelihoods and their health-seeking behavior. The denial of treatment by the doctors and unavailability of health services are hindering their accessibility to health care. Violence/harassment, discrimination, discourtesy, maltreatment, and verbal and physical abuse are major barriers for health-care utilization by transgender individuals. An inclusive policy needs to be put in place for vulnerable groups like transgenders.