The Needs of LGBTI People Regarding Health Care Structures, Prevention Measures and Diagnostic and Treatment Procedures: A Qualitative Study in a German Metropolis

Abstract

(1) Background: Studies indicate that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people constantly face challenges and disadvantages in the health care system that prevent them from getting the best possible patient-centered care. However, the present study is the first to focus on LGBTI-related health in a major German metropolis. It aimed to investigate health care structures, prevention measures and diagnostic as well as treatment procedures that LGBTI individuals need in order to receive appropriate patient-centered health care and health promotion. (2) Methods: Following a participatory approach, five expert interviews with LGBTI people with multiplier function, i.e., people who have a key role in a certain social milieu which makes them able to acquire and spread information in and about this milieu, and three focus groups with LGBTI people and/or health professionals were conducted. Qualitative data were analyzed according to the principles of content analysis. (3) Results: The specific needs of LGBTI individuals must be recognized as a matter of course in terms of depathologization, sensitization, inclusion, and awareness. Such an attitude requires both basic knowledge about LGBTI-related health issues, and specific expertise about sufficient health care services for each of the minorities in the context of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity. (4) Conclusions: For an appropriate approach to LGBTI-centered health care and health promotion, health professionals will need to adopt a better understanding of specific soft and hard skills.

TRANSALUD: A qualitative study of the healthcare experiences of transgender people in Barcelona (Spain)

“…Thus, in relation to negative experiences with the health system, transgender people assert different demands that help to improve the care they receive; on the one hand, the protocolization of care for the transgender population is proposed to avoid the current pathologizing model and thus improve access to treatment. These demands correspond to the results obtained in the study by Lampalzer et al, conducted on LGBTI people, from which the terms depathologization, sensitization, inclusion, and awareness emerged [ 31 ]. On the other hand, emotional accompaniment and psychological therapies are requested as resources from the public health services portfolio, replacing current psychiatric evaluations.…”

“…Improvements in the training of health professionals at the university level should be linked to the review of issues related to the LGBTIQA+ community, aspects of sex education, gender identity, and assessment of the needs of groups at greater risk of suffering discrimination, as is the case for transgender people [ 16 , 52 ]. In this manner, universities could be spaces in which to acquire a critical view of the social and normative context that questions concepts as deeply rooted as heteronormativity and the pathologization of all identities that do not comply with established social norms, in addition to condemning transphobic attitudes that, unfortunately, are too often repeated in the healthcare environment [ 29 , 31 , 33 , 34 , 39 ].…”

Understanding health needs of men who have sex with men in Agra district of India: a community based mixed method study

“…Other studies conducted by Lampalzer et al (2019) in Germany and by Alpert et al in United states also pointed to the need for the elimination of discrimination so that health professionals should treat MSM people non-judgementally. 11,12…”

Gesundheitliche Themen von LSBTIQ+Personen in der ärztlichen Ausbildung in Deutschland

“…Auch stellen Lampalzer et al. 43 in einer qualitativen Studie an LSBTIQ+Personen fest, dass Behandler*innen im Gesundheitssystem die besonderen Bedürfnisse von LSBTIQ+Personen im Sinne von Entpathologisierung, Sensibilisierung, Inklusion und Bewusstseinsbildung anerkennen müssen, was durch Fachwissen über auf LSBTIQ+bezogene Gesundheitsthemen für jede der Minderheiten im Kontext von sexueller Orientierung und Geschlechtsidentität zu erreichen wäre. Dieses Grundlagenwissen fehle allerdings.…”