LGBTQ

The acceptance of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community has greatly increased over the past decade in certain communities and parts of the world. We can owe this to globalisation and increased awareness in present times. Especially the advent of metropolitan culture has also helped a lot in reducing the taboo associated with this type of relationships. But still there isn’t enough freedom and open-mindedness in some societies which is causing a great hindrance for these individuals to access quality health care .

Numerous studies highlight health disparities involving the care of LGBT people. Lesbian and bisexual women are less likely to receive recommended preventive screenings such as breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screenings. Among men who have sex with men, rates of human papillomavirus–associated anal cancers are 17 times higher than those of heterosexual men.

In addition, gay and bisexual men accounted for 70% of all new HIV diagnoses in the United States in 2018, and they disproportionately contract sexually transmitted infections. In 2018, men who have sex with men accounted for 64% of primary and secondary syphilis infections in the United States where the sex of the sexual partner was known. Transgender individuals have a higher prevalence of HIV infection and suicide compared with other groups.

Research has found that LGBT individuals are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and alcohol and drug use than their counterparts. 

Sexual orientation being the reason for disparity in the society is a indication of reverse evolution and it becoming the reason for not getting quality healthcare should be considered toxic and even more pathetic as health care should be deemed as a fundamental right for every human being.

Addressing health disparities and creating positive health care experiences require an understanding of the diversity of cultural expression and lives of LGBT community. First,health care providers must be able to distinguish gender identity from sexual orientation. 

Gender identity is a person’s internal sense of their gender. It should not be confused with sex assigned at birth, which is based on anatomy and biology. Gender identity expands beyond the binary male and female and includes persons who think of their gender as containing elements of both or neither. Many individuals who do not identify with the gender that correlates with their sex assigned at birth often use the terms transgender or trans-male or trans-female to identify themselves.

Sexual orientation refers to how one thinks of their physical or emotional attraction to others. Sexual orientation has three dimensions. attraction, behavior, and identity. Attraction refers to one’s desire to be with someone, regardless of one’s behavior or stated identity. For example, a woman may be attracted to another woman, but this attraction may never be acted upon and may not form part of her sexual identity. Behavior refers to a person’s sexual and romantic partners. Although sexual identity often aligns with behavior, some individuals who identify as heterosexual may have same-gender partners and some individuals who identify as lesbian or gay may have different-gender partners. Lastly, identity refers to how a person defines their own sexuality. Common terms for sexual identity include gay, lesbian, bisexual, straight, heterosexual,homosexual, and asexual. As individuals go through the process of understanding their sexuality and self-identity over time, they may change how they define their sexual identity.

With this in mind we should undertand that the healthcare needs of this population are sometimes special and must be treated in a very meticulous manner.
There can be many measures which can cater to the healthcare needs of this people. Something as simple as awareness regarding hygiene after a sexual act can greatly promote good health in them.Using a betadine gargle or a mouth wash after an oral exposure can greatly reduce the chance of acquiring stis. genital hygiene plays a very important role in reducing transmission of stis.

Even in conditions where no penetrative intercourse is involved its always adviced to keep an eye on sexually transmitted infections which can spread by touch or body fluids like herpes. Regular screening for stis is a very good tool to reduce this kind of disease burden.

In cases where anal intercourse is involved proper care should be taken regarding the diet.constipation should always be avoided.for instance if there is a fissure in ano ,it has to be immediately dealt with and its better to follow abstinence for a month or till it completely heals.

Awareness regarding PrEP(pre exposure prophylaxis) and PEP(post exposure prophylaxis) against HIV should be created among this population.

Many government and non government organisations have been trying to create health awreness and trying to reduce this  communities  misconceptions regarding not receiving quality health care.we at dr safehands have also been trying to reduce this gap in healthcare by creating awareness regarding some of this simple techniques which can be followed to avoid stis. We believe every individual is equal but unique and his healthcare needs have to be met with high specificity .gender identity and sexual orientation has nothing to do when providing quality health care and we try to do our little part in this healthcare journey by providing a safe and open space for everyone to be aware and well informed about these things which are required for a happy life.