Health care is one of the most crucial aspects of society that affects everyone regardless of their age, gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Health care refers to the treatment and prevention of diseases, illnesses, injuries, and disabilities through medical professionals, pharmaceutical drugs, surgery, and other interventions.
Accessibility to quality health care has been a major issue for many people from minority groups due to systemic inequalities such as racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. As a result, LGBTQ+ individuals have often been denied access to adequate healthcare services that can meet their needs, leading to negative consequences such as mental health problems, premature death, and delayed diagnosis of illnesses. This essay explores how systemic healthcare inequities perpetuate social and structural oppression against LGBTQ+ populations.
According to Hunt et al. (2018), marginalized groups are at risk of experiencing discrimination during visits to primary care providers who might misconstrue their symptoms or fail to treat them appropriately.
Some doctors may dismiss gay men's experiences because they believe their sex practices contribute to their illnesses instead of understanding that their sexual orientation does not make them more susceptible to certain conditions than heterosexual individuals.
Some doctors have used homophobic language while treating patients, making it difficult for these individuals to seek help when needed. These biases create an environment where LGBTQ+ persons are reluctant to share their concerns with health care providers out of fear of stigma and discrimination, resulting in late diagnoses and poor treatment.
LGBTQ+ individuals suffer from various forms of institutional oppression, including unequal employment opportunities, low wages, and lack of education. Research indicates that those who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender experience higher rates of poverty, unemployment, and under-education compared to the general population. As a result, they cannot afford quality medical services even if they wanted to. Moreover, many workplaces deny health insurance coverage to same-sex partners, forcing employees to pay extra fees to receive adequate care. Therefore, lack of financial resources prevents LGBTQ+ people from accessing necessary medical interventions such as preventive screening programs that could detect diseases early enough to enhance effective treatments.
Systemic healthcare inequities exacerbate social prejudices and stigmas against members of the LGBTQ+ community. Society tends to associate them with immorality, criminality, and promiscuity, leading to social isolation and discrimination in housing, education, and other areas of life.
Some doctors have refused to provide gender affirming surgery to transgender patients because of societal beliefs that this is a crime against nature.
There has been an increase in hate crimes against LGBTQ+ persons based on their sexual orientation, making it difficult for them to access primary care providers without fear of attacks. Therefore, healthcare disparities contribute to the perception that LGBTQ+ people are deviants, which further limits their accessibility to essential medical services.
Systemic healthcare inequalities perpetuate social and structural oppression against LGBTQ+ populations by creating barriers to receiving adequate medical attention due to bias, unequal employment opportunities, and negative stereotypes. These factors delay diagnosis, result in poor treatment, and lead to premature death. Thus, policymakers should work towards reducing these inequalities through inclusive policies such as providing comprehensive insurance coverage regardless of sexual identity or offering free access to primary care facilities. Healthcare institutions must also train professionals to be sensitive to diverse patient needs and promote cultural competence.
How do systemic healthcare inequities perpetuate social and structural oppression against LGBTQ+ populations?
Health disparities among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other sexual minority (LGBTQ+) individuals stem from numerous sources of oppression that intersect with one another at various levels.