Health inequalities among LGBTQ+ communities

The importance of NOT being Other: Time to address the invisibility of nuanced gender and sexuality in clinical trials

“…into one homogenous group needs to be avoided as each sub-community will have its own needs and general patterns to health. For example, it is well documented that lesbians and bisexual women are substantially less likely to engage with preventive healthcare services and are more likely to be overweight or obese compared to heterosexual women [7], with gay and bisexual men having a higher burden of STIs and mental health problems but greater health literacy and engagement with sexual health services [8,9]. Depending on the specifics of the clinical trial, it may be important to consider if these varying differences in health among populations will impact results and ensure that data is recorded correctly, acknowledging the varying identities of people whilst balancing this with trial efficiency (not collecting data that will not be analysed) and patient safety and privacy (right not to disclose).…”

“…For example, LGBTQ+ youth are 2 to 3 times more likely to attempt suicide, with elderly LGBTQ+ individuals facing barriers to health due to isolation and poor cultural competence among social services. Both physical and mental health are significantly worse among LGBTQ+ ethnic minorities [8]. Highlighting the need for better consideration of intersectionality.…”

Health professional’s implicit bias of adult patients with low socioeconomic status (SES) and its effects on clinical decision-making: a scoping review protocol

“…Our view is augmented by a wide range of evidence from different contexts, which indicates that healthcare professionals often make subconscious assumptions and exhibit implicit bias based on their own perceptions about another person because of their sexual orientation, perceived race, culture, religion or wealth. [52][53][54][55] Therefore, we contend that it is apposite to include papers with discrete measures that may be limited in their utility as proxy measures of SES in this scoping review, because they provide an important insight into factors relating to healthcare implicit SES-related bias(es) and how they affect HPs decision-making about different facets of patient care in the reality of everyday practice. In other words, we feel that excluding papers that use discrete measures would diminish the scope of the review, by limiting and/or failing to map the extent of this problem, in a manner which best reflects the praxis of modern healthcare.…”

‘Bigotry is all around us, and we have to deal with that’: Exploring LGBTQ+ young people’s experiences and understandings of health inequalities in North East England.

“…LGBTQ þ young people have higher rates of negative health outcomes such as depression, anxiety, and suicide ideation (Adelson et al, 2021;Wilson & Cariola, 2020). They are also more likely to engage in health risk behaviours such as self-harm and substance abuse (Fish et al, 2020;Williams et al, 2021). However, LGBTQ þ communities are not homogeneous and LGBTQ þ young people's experiences of health and social inequality can vary also depending on intersections with other axes such as age, ethnicity, income, social class, geography, and disability status (Williams et al, 2021;Zeeman et al, 2019).…”

“…They are also more likely to engage in health risk behaviours such as self-harm and substance abuse (Fish et al, 2020;Williams et al, 2021). However, LGBTQ þ communities are not homogeneous and LGBTQ þ young people's experiences of health and social inequality can vary also depending on intersections with other axes such as age, ethnicity, income, social class, geography, and disability status (Williams et al, 2021;Zeeman et al, 2019). Further, systemic heteronormativity and other forms of discrimination all play into worsening health and socio-economic outcomes for LGBTQ þ young people, whose lives tend to be further compounded by disadvantage, stigma and oppression, leading to intersecting layers of vulnerability (Higgins et al, 2021;Stevens et al, 2021;Zeeman et al, 2019).…”