ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE FOR THE LGBTQ+ POPULATION (Atena Editora)

Abstract

In accessing health care, discrimination, stigma, invisibility and other barriers related to sexual orientation and gender identity can result in serious damage to the health of the LGBTQ+ population. Health professionals can contribute to these barriers or, on the other hand, to equitable and quality health care. Faced with this problem, we were faced with the need to study the situation of vulnerability of the LGBTQ+ community in terms of access to health care. Through an integrative literature review, we explored the question “What are the factors that influence access to health care for the LGBTQ+ population between 15 and 30 years old?”. The outlined objectives consisted of identifying the factors that influence access to health care for the LGBTQ+ population, identifying the health specificities of the LGBTQ+ population; understand the barriers in accessing health care and their consequences. Nine primary studies of a quantitative and qualitative nature, carried out in different countries whose health system and social environment are similar to Portugal, were selected. As search criteria, we included articles in Portuguese and/or English, and published within a period of 5 years (2018 to 2023), through the EBSCO platform with access to the CINHAL Complete and Medline Complete databases. The analysis and discussion of the documentary corpus revealed that the main barriers center on discrimination and invisibility in health care, the lack of competence of health professionals, health literacy and attitudes of the LGBTQ+ population and the transition phase in which trans individuals meet. A direct relationship was established with the postponement and/or lack of seeking care by this population and discrimination in health contexts. Heterosexuality and cisnormativity and consequent invisibility were another factor related to the eviction of health care. Health professionals often assume the client's sexual orientation/gender identity, resulting in a barrier to providing individualized care that meets the client's needs. These factors are often motivated by the lack of cultural and professional competence of caregivers, not having the necessary training and knowledge to provide quality care to this population. We also verified a wrong perception of the severity of the symptoms by LGBTQ+ individuals, which results in a postponement of the search for health care. Knowing the disparities in health and existing barriers in accessing health care for this population in a context of vulnerability is essential to contribute to equitable health care.