In this week's Medquity post, we will go over some health disparities often faced by the LGBTQ+ community, including abuse, discrimination in the healthcare system, smoking, etc., written by Archi Das Gupta. Though America often prides itself on being an accepting LGBTQ+ country with its 40 policies in place for LGBTQ+ policies, the healthcare aspect for LGBTQ+ rights is rather ignored. LGBTQ+ people are from every race, gender, ethnicity, social class yet they still face stigma from society; they are discriminated against and often denied their human and civil rights. Due to these problems that LGBT people experience, they often develop psychiatric disorders, mental illnesses, and resort to substance abuse or suicide. LGBTQ children are in the most dangerous position if their family or community is not accepting of them-- this makes up about 42% of LGBTQ youth (4 out of 10). In addition, LGBTQ youths are 2 times likely to be physically harassed, assaulted, kicked, shoved, etc. LGBTQ+ teens are also most likely to be kicked out of their homes and become homeless; they make up 40% of the child homelessness even if it is for one night. This is due to parents that are not accepting of their sexuality. What makes this worse is that there are also many individuals who are homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic in positions of healthcare and in the government. This leads to LGBTQ+ individuals not seeking out healthcare when they need it the most. Doctors are supposed to help anyone who needs them and aren’t supposed to discriminate, yet in 2015 it was revealed that 80% of first-year medical students stated to have an inherent bias against gay and lesbian people while 50% stated they had an explicit bias. Research shows that lesbians are less likely to receive preventive health care services for cancer. Ulrike Boehmer, who is a Boston University School of Public Health researcher who contemplates wellbeing differences in LGBT, expressed that cancer is incredibly risky for individuals from the LGB community, particularly the women. Post-cancer treatments are crucial because they help detect relapse of cancer, screening for long-term cancer, etc., yet LGB women are accounted to have a poorer quality of life and suffer after. During an examination that Boehmer did during 2014-2017, Boehmer distinguished 70,524 malignant growth survivors, which included 1,931 people who identified as LGB from 35 US states and Guam, specifically 782 LGB men and 1,149 LGB women. Additionally, trans women are the most targeted in LGBTQ+ and are constantly let down. A survey was done in 2015 which is the U.S. Transgender survey stated that 47% of transgender individuals are sexually assaulted at one point in their lives. Transgender people are often scared to seek out health care because they are concerned about people who perceive them with negative social attitudes. They are also concerned about the stigma surrounding their gender, they are afraid of being physically harassed, abused, neglected, rejected, discriminated against. These factors can lead to internalized stigma when they start having negative thoughts about themselves. Due to these reasons, transgender people often avoid going to the doctor, and don’t get preventive screenings and necessary tests. Additionally, the Trump administration has reversed transgender health protection, which means transgender people can be denied doctor appointments and denied access to healthcare such as getting a hysterectomy. LGB individuals are also more likely to smoke than heterosexuals. About 1 out of 5 LGB adults smoke cigarettes compared to 1 out of 6 heterosexual adults who smoke. Tobacco is largely exploited in the LGBTQ+ community. It is common in LGBTQ communities because LGBTQ people often feel like they don’t fit in, so smoking/vaping was a way for them to fit in since it was so popularized. As they grow up, smoking/vaping becomes more prevalent as they become addicted to it. It is also noted that cigarettes are often a conversational starter in LGBTQ conventions and in general. Other factors that make LGBTQ+ individual susceptive to tobacco is stigma, lack of access to healthcare, LGBTQ+ organizations accepting sponsorships from tobacco companies, bar culture, and LGBTQ+ people being the main target for tobacco companies.
yet wherever there is a problem there is a solution. In terms of healthcare, institutions can implement cultural competency courses and do thorough background checks on individuals who have had a bad past with LGBTQ+ individuals. This is to ensure that LGBTQ+ individuals do not receive discrimination or a lower quality of care. And in terms of politicians, make sure to register to vote for the upcoming election.
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Welcome to our blog, Medquity!Here we will post extra articles on health disparities to display the profound health inequities in our healthcare system. These are updated every other weekend, so check back regularly! Archives
July 2021
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