Transition of Mental Health Care for Transgender Youth Aged Between 16 and 24 Years Old.

Background: The transitional age (16-24 years old) is a clinically vulnerable period particularly important in mental health care. While several studies focus on this problem, few consider the specificity of the transgender population, a minority at risk of mental health issues. The purpose of this paper is to establish a review of the current literature addressing the transitional age and the transgender population in order to identify the issues met by this specific population in the transition of mental health care.

Methods: A systematic search of the English literature was conducted in Pubmed and ScienceDirect. The PRISMA method was used to illustrate the process of identification, selection, evaluation of eligibility and inclusion of the selected articles.

Results: 12 studies were selected, of which five were specifically addressing the transition of care. No specific guidelines were highlighted. The main barriers to mental health care access were the lack of trained professionals, waiting time before a first appointment, past negative experiences of care and the cost of it.

Conclusion: Enhancing scientific research focusing on that theme is essential to improve the mental health care of this specifically vulnerable population.