The nursing professionals perception of the transexual population

Objective: To analyze the perception that professionals have about the Trans population, the meaning of gender identity; To investigate the existence of training of these professionals on the guidelines of LGBT health policies instituted by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Method: descriptive field study; exploratory and cross-sectional study with a qualitative approach, conducted with 72 nursing staff. Data were obtained through a semi-structured questionnaire with open and closed questions, self-completed by participants, and were treated following Bardin's content analysis. Results: The nursing staff has perception related to the misconception between sex, gender and sexuality, besides basic knowledge about gender identity. Most participants reported not having received any training during or after their professional training, and in addition to the lack of knowledge about public policies, there was evidence of non-use of the social name, even with the understanding of its meaning. Conclusion: This research revealed that the misperception about terms recurrently linked to Trans people, added to the lack of training of professionals and lack of knowledge about this population are the main obstacle to the promotion of comprehensive care and satisfactory reception in health services.