Gynecological Care Among Brazilian Women Who Have Sex with Women: A Respondent-Driven Sampling Study.

Purpose: This study aimed to describe the gynecological care provided to Brazilian women who have sex with women (WSW). Methods: Respondent-driven sampling was used to recruit Brazilian WSW. The survey questions, concerning gynecological care, were designed in Portuguese by medical professionals, medical students, and LGBTQIA+ community members, including the authors. The statistical analyses were weighted to account for the likelihood of recruitment. Results: From January to August of 2018, 299 participants were recruited in 14 recruitment waves. The mean age of the WSW was 25.3 years. Most (54.9%) identified as lesbian and had been involved in past-year sexual intercourse mainly with cisgender women (86.1%). The WSW also reported having sex with cisgender men (22.2%), transgender men (5.3%), nonbinary people (2.3%), and transgender women (5.3%) in the last year. More than a quarter of the WSW did not have regular appointments with a gynecologist: 8.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.2-11.6) and 19% (95% CI = 12.8-25.2) stated that they had never gone to the gynecologist or they had only gone for emergencies, respectively. Almost one-third had never had cervical cancer screening (cervical cytology, Pap test or Pap smear). Most women justified avoiding the test because they felt healthy, thought it would hurt, or feared a health professional might mistreat them. Conclusion: Gynecologists should avoid heteronormative assumptions, inquire about sexual practices, orientation, and identity separately, and provide Pap tests as advised to WSW.

Sexual Function and Quality of Life in Brazilian Transgender Women Following Gender-Affirming Surgery: A Cross-Sectional Study.

This cross-sectional and descriptive study aimed to evaluate the sexual function, urinary function, and quality of life of 26 Brazilian trans women who have undergone gender-affirming surgery (GAS) using the gold standard technique (penile inversion vaginoplasty) in the Gender Identity Transdisciplinary Program at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil, between March 2016 and July 2017. The Female Sexual Function Index, the SF-36 Health Survey, and the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form were used. Regarding their surgical results, 84.6% of the women said they were satisfied, 73.1% were sexually functional, and 15.4% reported urinary incontinence not associated with surgery. Participants also reported a good quality of life, despite low scores of pain and physical vitality. Transgender women in our sample reported a good quality of life and sexual function after GAS. Further studies are required to improve the psychosexual wellbeing of this specific population.

Rumination as a Marker of Psychological Improvement in Transsexual Women Postoperative.

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze rumination levels of transsexual women before and after gender affirmation surgery (GAS). Rumination scores may represent a broader measure of GAS success and an alternative to patient-reported satisfaction, quality of life, well-being, or the presence of "caseness" for anxiety or depression as previously established in the literature. Methods: Thirty-nine transsexual women were recruited. The participants completed the rumination scale of the Response Styles Questionnaire (RSQ) and were divided into three subsets according to the treatment time. Results: The rumination scores were lower in the transsexual women who had undergone surgical procedures on primary sexual characteristics and gradually decreased with each additional procedure completed with respect to secondary sexual characteristics. Conclusion: Rumination appears to comprise an important marker of improvement in post-GAS transsexual women.