Making health care more accessible for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community

Dr. Melissa Dykhuizen (BSN’04, MN’14, PhD’24) enrolled in the Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD) program at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) to pursue research with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community after working at a sexual health clinic for several years.

Dykhuizen completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and served as a registered nurse in community health – specifically street and sexual health – and worked in oncology, prior to becoming a nurse educator upon completion of her USask Master of Nursing (MN).

While working as a nurse educator, several of her colleagues were pursuing PhDs and she became interested in conducting research.

“I was inspired by the different opportunities having a PhD in nursing could provide in both helping people and my career development,” said Dykhuizen.

Dykhuizen successfully defended her PhD on April 30 after completing her dissertation titled, A Narrative Inquiry into the Experiences of Cervical Cancer Screening for Transgender Men. She will walk proudly across the USask Fall Convocation stage on November 13 at Merlis Belsher Place.

“I worked at a sexual health clinic for many years and realized I did not know a lot about transgender health,” said Dykhuizen. “I was inspired to learn more, so I did a lot of reading only to discover there have been a lot of missed opportunities to include transgender, Two Spirit, and gender-diverse people in related health research.”

“Taking into consideration my personal, nursing, and educational experiences, I was exploring transgender health research topics for my dissertation, when I decided I wanted to look at cervical cancer screening and transgender men in the Canadian context, as I found nothing was being looked at in our Canadian, and particularly, Saskatchewan context. I wanted not only to learn for myself as a registered nurse, but also expand knowledge for other practitioners, so people who are gender-diverse can access knowledgeable, competent providers and have access to positive cervical cancer screening experiences.”

Dykhuizen heard both positive and difficult stories from participants during her research studies.

“The participants shared some great experiences of having compassionate primary care providers in Saskatchewan, but I also heard some heartbreaking stories from participants that highlighted transphobia in our health-care systems and other parts of our community.”

While hearing of the great experiences after working in a sexual health clinic, Dykhuizen knows first-hand many people who are gender-diverse do not have access to primary care providers that are knowledgeable and willing to take a person-centered approach.

“Listening to the stories of the transgender men who participated in my research helped me see how interactions with health-care providers shapes and connects their experience with accessing and receiving health-promoting activities, such as cervical cancer screening.”

While Dykhuizen was writing her final dissertation, the Saskatchewan Government implemented a pronoun policy regulating gender identity and expression in schools.

“This just adds another barrier to achieving wellness that transgender, Two Spirit, and gender-diverse people are experiencing in Saskatchewan,” said Dykhuizen. “I grew up on Treaty 6 territory and have always called Saskatchewan home, so I want to help remove these barriers in my province.”

Dykhuizen hopes to present her dissertation at the international level next year, publish an open-access manuscript, and find more creative and accessible ways to translate her research to start breaking down these barriers.

“I would love for individuals who hear or read about my work to take an interest in making health care access – particularly cervical cancer screening – better for transgender, Two Spirit, and gender-diverse individuals,” added Dykhuizen. “I also hope this research might inspire other graduate students to conduct research that could enhance the health of transgender, Two Spirit, and gender-diverse people.”

Now that Dykhuizen has completed her PhD, she has accepted a research chair position with the Centre for Health Research, Innovation and Scholarship at Saskatchewan Polytechnic for the 2024/25 academic year.

Dykhuizen will be looking to create partnerships with other academics, community members, and community organizations interested in advancing transgender, Two Spirit, and gender-diverse wellness. She is also currently working with a team from Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) on a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grant exploring the experiences of people living on P.E.I. seeking and accessing gender affirming care.