LGBTQ PRIDE Studies

Health disparities in the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender community that lack fair treatment. This population deals with many adversities due to their sexual orientation and gender identity. LGBT’s community consists of a diverse population of people who come from all walks of life ((Howard, 2016). Many LBGT’s will delay or not seek health care due to stigma and lack of fair treatment. In other words, they believe that they are discriminated against.

The mental health of individuals in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) community is something that is a serious problem. For most of the history of the United States and many different parts of the world LGBT people faced much persecution and in some cases even death. This constant fear of discovery and the pressure that one feels on oneself when “in the closet” can lead to major mental distress. Research has shown that people who identify as LGBT are twice as likely to develop lifetime mood and anxiety disorders (Bostwick 468). This is extremely noticeable the past couple years in the suicides of bullied teens on the basis of sexual identity and expression. The stigma on simply being perceived as LGBT is strong enough to

was the use of telemedicine in order to reach patients who do not have access to

Relocating into a senior care facilities can be a frightening experience for the aging population. Getting familiar with new surroundings, new organization structure, and new people that can cause anxiety to rise. For a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer individual, this experience can be traumatic. The fear of harassment, hostility, and neglect by healthcare providers and caretakers can keep LGBTQ people from seeking care until their health begins to critically decline. LGBTQ cultural competency training is highly recommended for healthcare professionals and social service organizations. The greatest barrier that prevents quality health care for LGBTQ people is the lack of competence among the healthcare professionals.

The transgender population often have complicated medical needs and encounter numerous health disparities including discrimination, lack of access to quality health care and social stigma. Some health disparities include various chronic diseases, cancers, as well as mental health issues (Vanderbilt University, 2017). Transgender individuals are at increased risk of HIV infection with their rates being reported “over four times the national average of HIV infection, with higher rates among transgender people of color (Grant, Mottet, Tanis, 2011).” In addition, they usually do not have health insurance (Makadon, 2017) and have a lower probability of preventative cancer screenings in transgender men (AMSA, 2017).

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) falls within societal minority groups such as low income, people of color, and disables (AHRQ, 2011). Due to their gender identity, discrimination, violence, and even denial of human rights and healthcare services is a common challenge among LGBT population. LGBT still faces many health disparities primarily related to the historic bias of healthcare professionals anti-LGBT manners even though society acceptance has been favorable. According to Ard and Makadon (n.d), “until 1973, homosexuality was listed as a disorder…, and transgender still is.” This stigma prevents healthcare professionals to openly ask questions in a non-judgmental manner related to sexual identity. On the other hand, if the patient senses that the healthcare environment is discriminating they may be reluctant to disclose important information as their sexual orientation; thus, missing important opportunities of been educated about safety and health care risks.

This decision has affected people’s behavior as individuals and public institutions such as family, young, elderly, disabled, LGTB and those with pre-existing conditions. For example, Kates & Ranji (2014) report that health care access and coverage for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGTB) community in the U.S. face opportunities and challenges when getting access to care. The authors report that LGBT individuals experience some discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, due to ongoing discrimination, access to health care have been limited to these people (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2014). LGBT individuals not only face discrimination when trying to receive care, but also face difficulties that limit them such as “barriers in obtaining insurance coverage, gaps in coverage, cost-related hurdles, and poor treatment by health care providers” (Kates & Ranji, 2014).

LGBTQ Identities and Struggles: How to Serve Members of the LGBTQ Population in Substance Abuse and Family Treatment

Frequently, the lives of LGBTQ+ people are worsened by stigma, and when one has HIV and/or is considered a minority one will encounter greater public prejudice, discrimination, loss of self-worth, and negative implications for one’s health and well-being. The Orlando Immunology Center (OIC) served as a venue for this presentation sponsored by Dialogo and Two Spirit Health Centers, and was facilitated by Robert Katz who examined stigma in its various guises and how it impacted people’s mental health and physical illness. To date, the literature on stigma and health outcomes has focused primarily on harmful health-related behaviors that are associated with perceived discrimination. This presentation suggested that when people experience discrimination,

Sexual and social stigmas largely affect the health of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population. While many reports from the Institute of Medicine, Healthy People 2020 and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recognize a need to improve the quality of health care, barriers still remain. LGBT patients face legal discrimination, especially with insurance, a lack of social programs, and limited access to providers competent in LGBT health care. Although the Affordable Care Act increased access to care for LGBT patients, unless these patients feel understood by providers and develop trust in the system, they are not likely to utilize care. Healthcare providers need to recognize how these vulnerabilities, as well as persistent racism and stigma linked to sexual orientation and gender identity, make the healthcare needs of LGBT patients more challenging than the general population. Healthcare providers also need to promote cultural competence within this population and broaden their clinical lens to include health promotion, in addition to addressing concerns mentioned above within the population. Additionally, medical and nursing schools need to ensure that future providers are adequately educated by including information about this population in the curriculum.

The struggle for equality has been intense, and still continues to this day. With this being said, much progress has been made in establishing respect and external acceptance for all individuals sense of identity. For example, in 2015 the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Same Sex Marriages, marking a pivotal point in the civil rights movement for the LGBTQ community. For many, this act helped to support their sense of self, a right that been denied for so long. The United States effectively validated the LGBTQ community, giving this group all rights granted to all other citizen’s, However, the creation and acceptance of this community has not had positive benefits for all members. The Gender Binary has been changed, but many distinctions

Few studies have been adequately powered to investigate variability in health by sexual orientation, let alone by orientation and other key social characteristics (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status); yet research suggests heterogeneity in sexual minority health. Most research on sexual minorities health in the United States has been led utilizing convenience samples. In spite of the fact that the discoveries of this exploration have made huge commitments to the research, information gathered from nonprobability tests have constrained access for general health planning as a result of concerns with respect to determination predisposition and outer legitimacy. Populace based health measurements assume a key part in illuminating the prioritization of general health and wellbeing issues, and open interest in the health advancement movement.

Although being the coordinator allowed me to refine important research skills (e.g., methodology), ultimately, coordinating this project enhanced my desire to advocate for full acceptance for LGBT individuals through research so that carrying the burden of concealing one’s identity no longer feels

Stigma is a part of everyday life for most people. Stigma refers to negative perception of beliefs or attitudes that a certain attributes make a certain group unacceptably different from others. the result of stigma is prejudice or discrimination as well as physical and mental health issues. Group that are usually stigmatized are people with disabilities, mental illness, HIV/Aids and LGBT community. It took a long time, but nearly all medical organizations now agree that being gay is not a “sociopathic personality disturbance,” but there are still medical organizations who prejudice against the LGBT community. The artifact is a journal article from TheAtlantic, titled, “When Doctors Refuse to Treat LGBT Patients” by Emma Green. The article is geared to the educated public and LGBT communities. The article is very lengthy and detailed with lots of information. The article discussed that being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender is not a disease. There are a few organizations that still challenges this view as of 2016. This is happening in Mississippi, physicians and therapist have the right to choose not to provide treatments that conflict with their religious beliefs. “They can refuse treatments that might include sex-change operations, hormone-replacement therapy for transgender people, fertility treatments to same-sex couples, or counseling for patients who are in non-heterosexual relationships” (Green 2016). This is discriminatory against LBGT

There are many minorities in the United States of America making it one of the largest melting pots in the world. Unfortunately, due to the vast variety of people, there are many minorities that lack the proper access to healthcare resources that cater to their healthcare needs both mentally and physically. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community, also known as the LGBT community, face many hurdles when it comes to receiving the proper healthcare. They also encompass many different races, religions, ethnicities and social classes. According to a recent national and state-level population-based surveys, “8 million adults in the US are lesbian, gay, or bisexual, comprising 3.5% of the adult population” (Gates, 2011). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people face many challenges and barriers accessing the proper health services. Many of the challenges the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community faces stems from