Healthcare and the LGBT Community

 

We had a great talk today about the need for healthcare providers to address the sexual orientation and gender identities of their patients. Many healthcare professionals do not consider how knowing their patients' gender and sexuality background can affect the services they provide, and how many LGBT people are afraid to come out to their providers let alone seek healthcare at all. 

I found out today that lesbians have a higher rate of breast cancer than their straight counterparts. Why is this, you ask? Well, it's not because being gay makes you more prone to cancer, it's because lesbian women have higher rates of smoking, obesity and other factors that put them at greater risk for cancer than straight women. Likewise, transgender folks have higher incidence of nicotine and drug use, relationship violence and "anatomical" cancers. Consider the transgender man at risk for breast or ovarian cancer -how likely will he be to seek a breast exam or pelvic exam? How prepared are healthcare workers to provide these services in a respectful manner? I think a lack of knowledge around these issues is a major part of the problem when you put aside the whole homophobia thing (a 2004 survey found that given the option, 36% of nurses would decline to treat LGBT patients. Hey nurses! That's not very compassionate of you!!).