Premium Essay

Health Disparities of the Lgbt Community

In:

Submitted By dpoer1
Words 1150
Pages 5
Health disparities of the LGBT community
Darlene Poer
Grand Canyon University

Minerva Gonzales
May 15, 2016

Health disparities of the LGBT community
Many factors contribute to a person’s health status. Among them are, limited access to care, socioeconomic, and environmental factors. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “the social determinants of health as well as race are ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, age, and disability” (Myers, Yoon, & Kaufman, 2013). The Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community falls into this category. The individuals that belong to this group come from all ethnicities, races, economic and social statuses throughout the United States and the world. The Institute of Medicines report in 2011 states, “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals have unique health experiences, but as a nation, we do not know exactly what these experiences and needs are ("LGBT health report," 2011, p. 4).For this reason their needs and health care inequities and inequalities should be addressed.
The health promotion goal of the LGBT community is to “improve the health, safety, and well-being of lesbian, gay, and transgender individuals” ("," 2014). To understand the current health status of the LGBT community, one must understand some basic definitions. 1. Gender identity-A person’s basic sense of being male or female. 2. Gender expression- Manifestations that are defined as masculine or feminine. 3. Gender role conformity- The extent to which an expression conforms to cultural norms. 4. Gender dysphoria- The discomfort one has with the sex that one had at birth.
There are many factors that affect the health status of this very diverse group. Among them are greater economic disadvantages. The Williams Institute reports that those identifying as LGBT have higher rates of poverty than heterosexual

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Healthcare Desparity

...LGBT Healthcare Disparity Theresa Sellers Southwestern Oklahoma University LGBT Healthcare Disparity INTRODUCTION There is an increasing progress being made in the equal right of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) community. Fifteen of the states now recognize at least some of the same rights to same sex couples that are given to heterosexual couples (Krehley, 2009). Despite the progress that has been made, the LGBT population continues to experience worse health outcomes due to poor health insurance coverage, higher rates of stress due to discrimination and cultural incompetency (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health, 2012). Same sex marriage laws and domestic partnership benefits increase the burden of health care costs. A recent study of period in disparities in health insurance coverage of same-sex couples revealed that partnered gay men are less likely (42 percent) as married heterosexual men to get employer-sponsored dependent coverage, and partnered lesbians have an even slimmer chance (28 percent) of getting dependent coverage compared to married heterosexual women. As a result of these much lower rates of employer-provided coverage, partnered lesbians and gay men are more than twice as likely to be uninsured as married heterosexuals. The exclusion of insurance benefits for gay men and women and the failure of domestic partnership benefits to provide equal access to health coverage results into more health spending...

Words: 1079 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Elderly Lesbians and Breast Cancer

...Nursing MSN 533-08 Theoretical Aspects of Aging Running Head: ELDERLY LESBIANS AND BREAST CANCER 2 Elderly Lesbians and Breast Cancer Cancer health disparities have been documented in specific populations in the United States. Elderly lesbians are one such population, with factors related to lifestyle, socioeconomic status, healthcare practices, and access to services (Brown & Tracy, 2008). There is a pressing need for understanding of the health care disparities faced by elderly lesbians, so that the needs of this group can be adequately met. In the United States, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. Several risk factors for breast cancer are at least partially modifiable, and are present more among the lesbian population than heterosexual women (Brown & Tracy, 2008). Breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer among women worldwide, with rates significantly higher in developed nations. Over 80% of all female breast cancers occur among post-menopausal women. Breast cancer is not primarily found to be hereditary, but women who have the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes (which can be inherited) have a considerably higher breast cancer risk (Miller, 2012). Lesbian elders have particular well-being requirements, but often suffer from subpar care and reduced access to services. Fear of discrimination, low rates of health insurance, and negative experiences or feelings of discrimination by healthcare providers are all issues that have been documented to lead to increased...

Words: 1897 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Offshoring

...Promoting Wellness and Resilience in the LGBT Community Lisa J. Ware Capella University LGBT is a minority group that continues suffering from inequalities, discrimination, and acts of hate crimes, in addition to, being faced with the challenges that causes mental, emotional and health problems. The sexual orientation of LGBT was once known as a mental illness, however, the individual that classify as having same-sex attraction and/or sexually attract to both male and female, experience great levels of minority stress that result in mental and emotional problems. Minority stress, if experienced in severity over long periods of time will contribute to mental and physical illness. Therefore, individual in this community has developed modifiers to help cope with stressors. A mental health counselor will work with these individuals by informing on how to deal with stress through intervention planning and preventative education, that will last through out the lifespan, as a practice, when stress arrive. The Wellness and Resiliency Model The wellness model in counseling is based from research that help form the evidence bases for practice in the counseling field. The wellness approach used by mental health counselor involves a perspective that promotes a holistic approach of the mind, body, and spirit that emphasize empowerment, wellness, normal development, intervention, and prevention. Within this approach, the therapeutic goals, when working with the client, are to improve their...

Words: 1623 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Psych

...When it comes to women in the United States they really have come a long way. There has been so much discrimination against woman to start with how they cannot work as well as a male in the work force. Females will keep their wants and ambitions to their selves so it doesn’t seem like they want to come on top of males in there macho ness. Meetings are held just to make sure that a whole company on the same team would approve of women being in charge. For example Elizabeth Head, the first woman lawyer to be hired at Skadden (in 1957) recalls the day the partners (senior lawyers who share in the overall profits of the firm) interviewed her. “They held a meeting right in front of me," she says, "to debate whether it would ruin the firm to have a woman lawyer. “Women are entering the legal provision today in unprecedented numbers. Relatively few, however, become partners in the firms they enter. Of the 178 partners at Skadden, Arps in 1989, only 23, including Peggy Kerr, were women. This alone shows how women can be amazing. Women have been considered “Glass ceiling” a level above which women do not rise. Young women have opportunities to pursue careers in virtually all fields of human endeavor, but their opportunities remain largely those of training and entry, there are few women at the very tops of their occupational fields. “An Evolutionary Process” is another label females have been seen as this when a woman one associates women's liberation with the late as and early as...

Words: 933 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Community in Public Health

...public health industry, it is a difficult task to align all efforts in a framework that promotes the overall health of populations. During the late 1970s, hundreds of public health experts collaborated to confront high-priority community health issues. This grand dialogue amongst researchers resulted in the publication of the Healthy People report, which emphasized the impacts of health determinants and personal behavior on the health of individuals. By focusing on preventative health services, health protection, and health promotion, the Healthy People reports challenge public health services to meet specific, population-based health objectives by the end of the decade. Whether the objectives might be to reduce the prevalence of a communicable disease or improve birth rates, all the objectives are intended to meet these overarching goals of the report: eliminate health disparities and promote quality of life for all population members. In the most recent report, Healthy People 2020, the new national health agenda added new focus areas to its objective list; some of those focus areas are LGBT health, healthcare-associated infections, and global health. In addition, the report outlined four health measures to evaluate progress in efforts that meet the objectives of the report: general health status, health-related quality of life, determinants of health, and health disparities. The objectives of the Healthy People reports provide a national standard that public health administrators...

Words: 602 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Health Disparities

...In the 21st century, society has made great strides in recognizing and accepting individuals from diverse backgrounds. However, despite these advancements, members of the LGBTQ+ community still face significant disparities in healthcare. Discrimination, lack of understanding, and stigma have created barriers to quality healthcare for individuals in these groups, leading to negative health outcomes and perpetuating a cycle of inequality. It is imperative that healthcare providers and institutions address these disparities to ensure that all patients receive equitable care regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It’s not a surprise that LGBTQ+ people face disparities in both physical and mental health compared to their heterosexual...

Words: 1417 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Personally Mediated Racism

...Anthropogenic activities can lead to deterioration and degradation of the environment. This can impact human health by reducing life expectancy and increasing infant mortality rate. For example, climate change can lead to flooding and drought, which can impact agricultural yield. Shortage of food or famine can affect the infant mortality rate. Also, human activities that pollute the environment can lead to chronic and acute disease which can affect life expectancy and infant mortality rate of a given population. Infrastructure can impact life expectancy and infant mortality rate. The presence of good infrastructure may aid healthy lifestyle leading to higher life expectancy and lower infant mortality rate. Hence the absence thereof may affect...

Words: 1376 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Annotated Bib.

...Characteristics of a Traditional Asian Family. Retrieved from: http://www.coedu.usf.edu/zalaquett/mcdp/Asian%20handout.htm on: September 2, 2014. This article contains a list describing the characteristics found in Asian families; it explains the disciplines, gender differences and so on. The article can be used when researching the characteristics of the Asian- American culture, and understanding the cultural diversity and traditions. Latino-American Minority health (2012). Hispanics or Latino Populations. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/populations/REMP/hispanic.html on: September 2, 2014. Annotated Bibliography Three To get a better understanding in diseases affecting the Hispanic community, the CDC used demographics and statistics for research purposes. The article covers health statistics and demographics, and how they are used for health research analysis. This article is great for research regarding diseases affecting the Hispanic community....

Words: 669 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Cigna Case Study

...Cigna is a multifarious health care organization whose company reaches across the world to provide healthcare, to its consumer. Cigna has roots in the healthcare business from its parental foundation, dating back hundreds of years. In 1982, Cigna began its own venture in the healthcare organization in the state of Connecticut after the unification of Insurance Company of North America (INA) and Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (CG). By expanding its services to customers in the United States and around the globe that provides medical, dental, disability, life and accident insurance, and related products, Cigna has become a global health service leader. Network Growth and Strategies In 2014, Cigna launched a new brand campaign,...

Words: 1076 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Lgbt

...What Is LGBT? LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and along with heterosexual they describe people's sexual orientation or gender identity. These terms are explained in more detail here. Lesbian A lesbian woman is one who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to women. Many lesbians prefer to be called lesbian rather than gay. Gay A gay man is one who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to men. The word gay can be used to refer generally to lesbian, gay and bisexual people but many women prefer to be called lesbian. Most gay people don't like to be referred to as homosexual because of the negative historical associations with the word and because the word gay better reflects their identity. Bisexual A bisexual person is someone who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to people of both sexes. Transgender or Trans Is an umbrella term used to describe people whose gender identity (internal feeling of being male, female or transgender) and/or gender expression, differs from that usually associated with their birth sex. Not everyone whose appearance or behaviour is gender-atypical will identify as a transgender person. Many transgender people live part-time or full-time in another gender. Transgender people can identify as transsexual, transvestite or another gender identity. Gender Identity One's gender identity refers to whether one feels male, female or transgender (regardless of one's biological...

Words: 19540 - Pages: 79

Premium Essay

Homosexuality

...Hetero/homosexual continuum Kinsey scale Klein Grid Neuroscientific Queer studies Sexology Timeline of sexual orientation and medicine Non-human animals Animal sexual behaviour Non-reproductive sexual behavior in animals Homosexual behavior in animals (list) Category Category v t e Part of a series on Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people LGBT flag Sexual orientation Homosexuality Demographics Biology Environment History LGBT history Timeline Social movements Culture LGBT community Coming out Pride Slang Symbols Gay village Rights Laws around the world Marriage Union Adoption LGBT parenting Military service Legal aspects of transgenderism Intersex human rights Social attitudes Heteronormativity LGBT stereotypes Queer Religion and homosexuality Religion and transgender Prejudice / Violence AIDS stigma Anti-intersex Biphobia Genderism Heterosexism Homophobia Lesbophobia Binarism Sexualism Suicide among LGBT youth Transphobia Violence against LGBT people LGBT trafficking Academic fields and discourse LGBT/Queer studies Lesbian feminism Queer theory Transfeminism Lavender linguistics Portal LGBT.svg LGBT portal v t e Celebrating same-sex marriage at the Lexington Pride Festival in 2015. Homosexuality (from Ancient Greek ὁμός, meaning "same", and Latin sexus, meaning "sex") is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between members of the...

Words: 12671 - Pages: 51

Premium Essay

Transgender Issues

...Due, in part, to representation in media and pop culture, visibility of the transgender (trans) community has been steadily increasing over the last decade (Roberts & Fantz, 2014). Until recently, transgender-related issues have often been loosely addressed under the umbrella of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues. Upon isolating investigation to the T (trans) portion of the population, research has shown that the transgender community faces stigma and discrimination at alarming rates across numerous areas of life (Cruz, 2014; Grant, Mottet, & Tanis, 2011). This population is met with systemic discrimination in women’s shelters that refuse to help male-to-female transsexuals (MTFs), attaining surgery because many states...

Words: 1218 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Patterns of Discrimination in Police Agencies

...Patterns of Discrimination in Police Agencies George Phillip CJS/221 October 13, 2015 LaTishia Wheaton Introduction Purpose Different Forms of Discrimination Patterns Discrimination refers to the arbitrary denial of opportunities, rights and privileges on the basis race, gender, sex and other aspects. Discrimination can be both legal and illegal depending on the situation. In a real-estate contract, for example, a land lord can legally discriminate against someone depending on the applicant’s situation. If the rent contract mentioned “NO PETS”, the landlord can deny the applicant and then turn around and accept an applicant with no pets. If the landlord on the other hand, refused rent to a female applicant because of her gender and gives rent to a male applicant, this type of discrimination is illegal. Discrimination is classified into individual discrimination, institutional discrimination and structural discrimination. In this paper, we will define each form of discrimination and compare them to see differences and similarities they have. In this paper, we will talk mainly about racial discrimination however, keep in mind all three forms of discrimination apply not only to race but also to gender, ethnicity, sexual preferences, religion marital status and other things. Institutional Discrimination Institutional Discrimination is defined as unjust and discriminatory mistreatment of an individual or group of individuals by society and its institutions as a whole...

Words: 1130 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Same Sex Marriage

.................................................................................................................1 A. Inroduction.........................................................................................................................2 B. Definition...........................................................................................................................3 - 4 C. Issues..................................................................................................................................4 - 8 i. LGBT parenting..........................................................................4 ii. Adoption.....................................................................................4 - 5 iii. Surrogacy and fertility treatment................................................5 iv. Organizations..............................................................................5 - 8 v. Health..........................................................................................8 - 9 D. History..............................................................................................................................9 - 11 i. Ancient........................................................................................9 - 11 ii. Modern........................................................................................11 E. 10 Reasons Why Homosexual “Marriage” is Harmful and Must be Opposed.................11 - 17 ...

Words: 7674 - Pages: 31

Premium Essay

Research Paper

...Quezon City Polytechnic University Batasan Satellite Campus Batasan Hills, Quezon City Research Paper in Symbolic Logic HOMOSEXUALITIES Submitted by Joann E. Buenavente Submitted to Prof. Fabian Avila I. Introduction Homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As an orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectionate, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same sex; "it also refers to an individual's sense of personal and social identity based on those attractions, behaviors expressing them, and membership in a community of others who share them." Homosexuality is one of the three main categories of sexual orientation, along with bisexuality and heterosexuality, within the heterosexual-homosexual continuum (with asexuality sometimes considered a fourth). Scientific and medical understanding is that sexual orientation is not a choice, but rather a complex interplay of biological and environmental factors,[1][3] especially with regard to early uterine environment. While there are those who still hold the view that homosexual activity is "unnatural" or "dysfunctional", research has shown that homosexuality is an example of natural variation in human sexuality and is not in and of itself a source of negative psychological effects. Prejudice and discrimination against homosexual and bisexual people...

Words: 11396 - Pages: 46