“Of all forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most egregious and inhumane” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.Small
Healthcare is a fundamental right for everyone, regardless of their moral, sexual and economic background. While there is a heightened awareness of closing gaps in the system and creating equality, one of the influential groups suffering from this injustice is the LGBTQ community.This community faces enormous discrimination in access to healthcare, leading to additional psychological stress.
challenge
- One-third of LGBTQ Americans face some degree of discrimination
- 62% of transgender people face greater disparities and lack of treatment
- 1 in 2 LGBTQ Americans suffer from anxiety, depression and isolation
- 15% avoid health care to prevent discrimination
- 51% of communities faced sexual harassment — 36% in the workplace; 21% in schools; 20% in apartment communities; 15% through interactions with law enforcement; and 14% elsewhere.
Our LGBTQ community suffers from discrimination, which directly affects their physical, mental, and economic well-being.According to the CDC Report, 20.5% of lesbian, gay and bisexual adults smoked compared to 15.3% of heterosexual adults. We know that smoking increases the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and lung cancer, among other health conditions. People who identify as lesbian or gay are more than twice as likely to have a “severe” alcohol or tobacco use disorder than those who identify as heterosexual, and those who identify as bisexual are more likely to have a substance use disorder More than three times as likely to identify as heterosexual.
current transformation
Healthcare organizations are increasingly focused on creating a patient-centric model, and view SDOH as a health care provider by driving member retention and expansion from a consumer perspective rather than a patient perspective, including better infrastructure and virtual care options. for one of key pointer in valuable care and making health care accessible and affordable overall. As Dr. Imamu Tomlinson said, “Fortunately, advances in culture and technology have opened up new possibilities. I believe the future of healthcare lies at the intersection of medicine, health systems and technology, delivering care to patients on their terms Serve.”
While SDOH is becoming a super focus, what about our LGBTQ community?One Health Equity Index (HEI) aims to provide equal access to health care for all LGBTQ individuals and their families.The plan involves implementing policies such as
- LGBTQ+ Patient-Centered Care
- LGBTQ+ Inclusive Patient Nondiscrimination Policy,
- LGBTQ+ Inclusive Visitation Policy,
- LGBTQ+ Inclusive Employment Nondiscrimination Policy, and
- Patient-Centered LGBTQ+ Caregiver Training.
These policies are critical to enhancing the adoption and delivery of healthcare in an equitable and sustainable form. In addition to this, to increase the rigor of such questions, we should consider the following:
Accelerate transformation
- LGBTQ+ curricula must be integrated into medical schools to educate physicians, nurses and administrators on issues and policies.
- LGBTQ+ training program for school teachers to foster inclusion and belonging at an early stage
- LGBTQ+ specific community clinics will be established to address disadvantaged communities
- LGBTQ+ support groups need to be uplifted and expanded in the community
- Encourage parents and patients of minors to share sexual orientation and gender identity data (SOGI) to enable better care
- Implement the collection and review of SOGI data in a clinical setting while understanding that sexual orientation does not always equal gender identity.
Last but not least, gathering patient feedback and making continual improvement is critical to improving healthcare DEI practice. Our gender, sexual orientation, culture and different backgrounds do not diminish our right to good health care.
