For my systemic injustice showcase I would like to further expand on my third topic, healthcare services provided to patients of preferred sexual orientation. Similar to the concept expressed in Simone de Beauvoir’s The Same Sex, LGBTQ members often feel as if they are considered the “Other” when receiving medical attention because they gain a sense of feeling powerless and unheard. Furthermore, I want to touch base on a situation that allowed me to understand why they are perceived as the “Other” and how it effects their overall health and well-being. This particular situation happened not too long ago and involved both a healthcare provider and patient. An unfortunate confrontation happened when a patient sensed that a nurse was refusing to provide care because of their preferred sexual orientation. Often, these patients reflect on their damaging past relationships with healthcare professionals, and this leads to them feeling frightened, judged, and misunderstood. Since this, I tend to think about how these individuals must feel and try to understand their emotions, which is why I chose to continue exploring this topic.
After extensive research, I found numerous articles that displayed why LGBTQ members have a hard time seeking the highest quality of medical care. Additionally, these articles expressed how members of the LGBTQ community experience high rates of mental, physical, and behavioral distress and high rates of infections. For example, one article revealed that 61% of gay and bisexual men are currently living with HIV in the United States, with 70% consistently reporting new infections (Kates et al., 2018). Furthermore, a study showed that 60% of transgender adults reported having poor health compared to 37% of cisgender adults. Of these results, 40% reported postponing screens and 68% reported some form of discrimination (Medina, 2021). From my perspective, these rates are high because many of these individuals often refrain from treatment due to the lack of education and communication by healthcare professionals, and the ongoing “Otherness” they experience. With that, it is crucial for this issue to be addressed ASAP.
There are a few things that are currently being done to help ensure that LGBTQ members feel as confident and equal as those of the general population. According to John Hopkins Medicine (2021), a project is being done called The EQUALITY Study which aims to change how healthcare providers in emergency rooms obtain information about sexual orientation. In addition, many universities are providing updated medical curriculums to ensure that medical students are receiving adequate education on sexual orientation. While these things are considered positive strides, more actions need to be taken to further reduce the number of LGBTQ members experiencing this type of discrimination. By continuing to take action it can help these individuals feel like they belong in this crazy world and eliminate their chances of feeling like the “Other.”
Citations:
Kates, J., Ranji, U., Beamesderfer, A., Salganicoff, A., Dawson, L. (2018 May 03). Health and access to care and coverage for LGBT individuals in the U.S. Kaiser Family Foundation. https://www.kff.org/report-section/health-and-access-to-care-and-coverage-lgbt- individuals-in-the-us-health-challenges/
Medina, C. (2021, August 25). Fact sheet: Protecting and advancing health care for transgender adult communities. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbtq-rights/reports/2021/08/25/503048/fact-sheet-protecting-advancing-health-care-transgender-adult-communities/
Neria, P.M. (2021). LGTBQ health care: Answers from expert paula neira. John Hopkins Medicine. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbtq-rights/reports/2021/08/25/503048/fact-sheet-protecting-advancing-health-care- transgender-adult-communities/
Nice work on your presentation. I appreciate the effort you took to find information and statistics from different articles. I agree with your comparison of the “other” that LGBTQ members feel. The medical care statistics you provided are quite alarming to read about it. Someone’s sexual orientation should not mean that they get less treatment than others. It is nice to see that there are measures like the EQUALITY study being done.
I think that you did a great job on your presentation. I thought that the statistics that you provided were very eye-opening and shows the true injustice that LGBTQ people face. I agree with how you talked about these people feeling like the “other.” This is definitely how they are treated in society as people often see them as different and treat them as outcasts. The fact that these people are receiving worse medical care is completely unacceptable and really made me realize the severity of this problem. Overall you did a very god job with this presentation and really opened my eyes to this problem
Great Presentation! Even as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I have never thought of this aspect. Receiving medical care is probably an extremely hard process for the trans community due to the biases that many people still have today. Explaining the othering that people face when receiving health care was a great tie into the topics we have been discussing. Overall great work!
Great presentation! I’d like to point out one of the pictures you included “create a welcome environment for LGBTQ+ patients”. I think that is extremely fitting, and all things considered, a great example of ways to reduce system injustice in healthcare. Also, I think all your points are very true, even looking personally, my brother, a very proud gay man, had to go to the hospital and he received ill-treatment because of a homophobic doctor. Which may or may not exemplify your example explicitly but still in a way shapes the other/otherness aspect of your post. Overall, excellent job!
Awesome job on this project. I like that you went out of you’re way and found lots of articles and statistics to really make a great presentation here. I personally am not part of the LGBTQ+ community and I have never really thought about these issues but after reading this I can totally see how these things are not very fair. Like the healthcare is a hard thing to do in the trans community and needs addressed.
Great Presentation! I like the inclusion of individual’s experience who was unable to receive care due to nurse, who disagreed with their sexual orientation. The use of statistics in articles really ties the whole thing together to show that this is indeed something that is happening widely across the country and not just locally. I also like how you included the research from John Hopkins university showing how a solution to this problem can be found.
Your view of the injustice suffered by LGBTQ+ community members in medical services is very good, which is the problem faced by LGBTQ+ community members. LGBTQ+ community members are often regarded as “others”, which is the dilemma they face in society, just because of their sexual orientation. You showed it well with data and your method used is a very powerful explanation of the problems that LGBTQ + community members faced. I think you mentioned the medical research adopted by Johns Hopkins Medicine at the end, which is very useful to solve the LGBTQ + community problem and provides a way out. Overall, it was a very good presentation.
Great job on your presentation, the statistics you included are fairly high. You also touched on an issue that I have never thought of being an issue but I can understand the barriers the LGBTQ community would experience. The correlation you made between the rate of men living with HIV in the United States and their rate of new infections is surprising. I always know that the LGBTQ community experienced discrimination in public opinion but would have never thought that it would happen in the healthcare sector. It supposed to be an environment that is safe and free of obstacles, which is why the Hippocratic Oath is important for healthcare professionals to take.
This is a topic I have not seen often before about LGBTQ people and the data you used was very convincing and made me realize the difficult issues LGBTQ people face in healthcare. I also agree with you after reading that it is difficult to get proper medical care in the situation that LGBTQ people face, and they consider themselves “other”. Not only do hospitals need to improve the medical care they provide, but we should also pay more attention to the psychological issues of LGBTQ people.
Amazing job on this project! I love your topic and how you went out of your way to provide information on a topic so important yet forgotten about in society today. I enjoyed reading all of your stats as you went out of your way to find them and I loved seeing the graphics on your page, it really brought out the story and just added color in general. I actually did not know many go on feeling as the “other” and the information you gave was very clear and allowed us readers to understand what is going on and how to make it better for people apart of the LGBTQIA+ community. I knew people of the community have gone through hardships and have been denied medical treatment because of medical workers who refuse to follow their duties but never this extent. Thank you for enlightening us on this situation and helping us understand.