Introduction
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community is a diverse group that has continued to increase over the past years. Despite their continuous global growth, these members face a standard set of challenges within the healthcare system. LGBT persons are more likely to experience poor health than heterosexual people (Henry et al., 2020). These troubles range from limited access to health care, discrimination, and lack of ideal insurance coverage to care for their needs. Recent years have brought about valuable data on the need to develop the right policies to help care for the health needs of the LGBT community. Even though great strides have been developed to help reduce the health disparity, much more effort is still required to help in achieving equality in health for the LGBT.
Problems Statement
Recent research studies suggest that in a similar environment, LGBT people are more likely to experience poor health than their heterosexual counterparts. For example, the gay community is at increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases and accounts for more than three-quarters of people living with HIV/AIDS (Henry et al., 2020). Lesbians and bisexual women are more likely to be attacked with cancer, be obese and become disabled at a younger age. On the other hand, bisexual people are reported to have high rates of suicidal attempts, depression, and gender violence. Further studies suggest that these members are more likely to have eating disorders, obesity, and life satisfaction. Finally, research studies further suggest that transgender groups are most likely to lack health insurance. These challenges show that these people’s healthcare needs should be addressed and provided with the necessary help.
Apart from the health concerns, it has been discovered that various state and federal laws have negatively affected these members. For example, the same-sex marriage bans in various states have resulted in high-level psychological torture (Henry et al., 2020). In some cases, the prohibitive hospital visitations by parents of same-sex have prevented these members from seeing their children or participating in decision-making regarding the minor’s health. This trend has made most of the LGBT group seek alternative health care, which sometimes is illegal and expensive. Further, the trend has resulted in other unfortunate events, such as substance abuse, anxiety, and suicide among the LGBT groups (Ufomata et al., 2020). These harmful laws and policies promoted this group’s marginalization in accessing and achieving quality care. This trend implies that ideal policies should be developed to help curb the challenge and promote healthcare delivery equality.
Addressing these disparities and challenges calls for sobriety in a society and healthcare system to review the existing laws and set new policies to help GBT society and their families. They must develop policies with a long-standing commitment to improving the health of every member of society (Henry et al., 2020). They must work to abolish any form of discrimination in the delivery of social and health services. In other words, they must work as a team to determine the challenges, eliminate them, and operate as people who are geared toward a harmonious society (Henry et al., 2020). By developing the right policies, they will promote not only the health of the LGBT members but also the entire group. This second part of the paper will take a keen interest in viewing some of the best policies to help in addressing the concern. The recommendations will be achieved from numerous studies, surveys, and reports on LGBT health care and other related issues.
The Policies to address the health Care Disparities
The Health Care Sector Should Identify and Understand the LGBT Community
The LGBT society is one of the multifaceted and diverse groups comprising persons from varied cultures, races, and all walks of life. Research studies indicate that this group has expanded globally, becoming more visible and outspoken (Ufomata et al., 2010). Nevertheless, despite their growth, these people usually face varied health-related challenges such as stigma, disparity, and discrimination in health. These gaps in the medical community are a wake-up call for the health care providers to identify and understand these people. In other words, the development and application of the new proposed policy will act as a new dawn to take care of the interest of the minority group. The approach will help these people to address the numerous health concerns that the LGBT group presents in a meaningful way.
The health care providers should understand critical aspects of the LGBT groups, such as their demographics, their challenges, and the best remedies that should be used to address the problems. The identity will help promote quality physical and mental healthcare (Butkus et al., 2020). Apart from the above, healthcare providers must work on the best ways of including the LGBT community in their national health concerns. The above criteria imply that they should collect reliable data on the issues affecting these people and work on the best ways of addressing them. The American department of health should allow healthcare providers to collect the correct data regarding these people to help improve healthcare. In one of the National Health Interview Surveys, it was noted that the collection of s such data is an objective way of improving people’s health (Butkus et al., 2020). Therefore, it is critical for the health care providers, together with all concerned people, to collect and effectively use these data to improve the health of the LGBT group.
Promote Access to Care through Health Care Insurance
For a relatively long time, the LGBT community has always been overlooked when working towards delivering affordable health care. Often, group members have been discriminated against, stigmatized, and not given the necessary attention during their hospital visits (Henery et al., 2020). This trend has led to many of them facing psychological torture, failing to acquire equitable health care, and even dying. Research studies further show that people who identify as LGBT are more likely to have affordable healthcare insurance and more vulnerable to economic disadvantages. This trend has led most people within the group to fail to achieve exemplary lives. Therefore, there is a need to address these concerns.
Developing the right policy to increase access to care through the Affordable Care Act will be the best way to help the valuable group. This policy will promote financial subsidies to help most American community members below the poverty level (Zeeman et al., 2019). Subsequently, the new policy will include no-discriminatory measures that aim to protect all members irrespective of their sexual orientation. Further, the improvement of Medicaid will help to improve the number of LGBT people who are using the services. The approach will help reduce medication costs among transgender, lesbians, and bisexuals and provide these people with a new hope of accessing quality health care at affordable costs across the nation. The new mechanism will create sanity and promote equality in the nation’s quality healthcare service delivery.
Provision of a Comprehensive Transgender Health Care Plan
LGBT society members are more likely to have a higher risk of both physical and emotional harm. These challenges may originate from bodily harassment, discrimination, and lack of identity among healthcare providers (Ufomata et al., 2020). Despite the high risk, very few states have provided enough laws to take care of the increased needs of the LGBT group. Therefore, a new policy should be set to help care for the patient’s comprehensive needs. The cover should allow the provision of a therapy plan that is medically fit to cater to all the physical and emotional torture that these members undergo. In other words, the new approach should effectively take care of the different needs the minority group has presented.
A comprehensive health cover refers to a treatment measure that will help to achieve a long-lasting solution to the issues affecting the health of the LGBT. The World Professions Association for the LGBT believes in standards that will help provide excellent care for their needs (Henry et al., 2020). The new care will cater to these members’ emotional, psychological and physical demands. By providing this appropriate care, these members will achieve improved health and reduce the rates of suicides and mental torture that they have experienced over the past years. The new plan will further reduce the cost of medication, which is sometimes demanding to be achieved by the poor minority group. Finally, the American Medical Association accepts that comprehensive health coverage will be the only lasting solution to an increased number of discriminated LGBT cases across America. Therefore, at all cast, it would be critical for the healthcare department to accept and adopt the new reasonable policy on the comprehensive care plan.
Hospitals and Medical Facilities to Allow LGBT to Participate in their Family Health Services
Countless accounts indicate that LGBT communities have been discriminated against when they visit their family members in the hospital setting. In most cases, these people are denied the right to either take part in making the decision or visit their loved ones. The main reason why the present policy prohibits these members is simply due to their sexual orientation. These rules are usually biased against the millions of LGBT, their families, and visitors. Therefore, there is a need to develop policies that encourage this group’s inclusivity in providing essential services to their loved ones, incredibly when sick. The policy should allow all people to actively participate in the process regardless of individual gender identity, marital status, or sexual orientation.
The new policy of including these members in decision-making and caring for their loved ones will improve the patient’s health. In other words, it will help to reduce the uncertainty and anxiety that may be developed by both the patient and the concerned members. American former president Barack Obama while looking into the issue of discrimination against the LGBT, recommended the need to allow people to have active participation in medical care (Zeeman et al., 2019). Through the appeal, the renowned president called for the hospitals to work on the best approaches to ensuring the inclusivity of all members in service delivery. The presidential memorandum also showed the hospitals to disclose to the patients their right to designate a given representative who may take care of their decisions. While spelling the article, Obama accepted the need to assign anyone irrespective of their sexual orientation.
Physicians to Support the Marriage Rights of the LGBT Members
There is an eminent need for healthcare providers to support the civil marriage rights of LGBT members of society. The denial of the marriage rights of these members has proved to have relatively negative mental and physical challenges (Henry et al., 2020). According to the most recent research, LGBT people facing negative societal attitudes may experience poor health and emotional torture and are more likely to be exposed to a suicide mission than their heterosexual counterparts. Subsequently, the members of this minority group who live in states where similar-sex marriages are banned typically have increased anxiety, substance abuse, and mood disorders (Henry et al., 2020). The denial of similar-sex marriage has also been regarded as a significant contributor to stigma and denial issues that affect adults in society. This trend implies a need to address the issue and creation of sanity within society on the issues of similar-sex marriage.
In contrast, states that support same-sex marriage usually promote the LGBT group to have a healthy lifestyle. Usually, these members can carry out their programs and achieve the best results in their daily operations. These health benefits occur as a result of improved psychological willpower that has been reinforced by environmental support. For instance, a comparison study that was carried out among gay and bisexual gay men in Massachusetts indicated that there was a reduction in physical and mental healthcare cases after the legalization of the program (Zeeman et al., 2019). This approach indicates the power of recognition of the similar sex marriage towards improving health. The above trend spells out the need for physicians to recognize the nature of these unique sex marriages in their operations. In other words, by accepting these members, the federal government, through the health care providers, will make a great stride towards the inclusivity of these people.
Accepting the new policy will help improve the attitude of both medical practitioners and society toward the positive implications of marriage. A survey by the Pew Research Center further shows that nearly half of Americans support same-sex marriage (Zeeman et al., 2019). The legal landscape is also shifting the need to provide an inclusive civil marriage right to same-sex orientation. Therefore, the American Medical Association should accept the new policy by taking care of its eminent benefits while reducing its demerits. The new policy aims to promote inclusivity and reduce the cases of discrimination, threats, and violence in same-sex marriage. It aims at developing laws and regulations that will promote freedom in society. Further, the policy aims to provide similar-sex marriage couples with the same rights as heterosexuals in the American constitution.
Medical Education Programs to Include LGBT Health Issues
Establishing a solid education and training on issues concerning the LGBT is one of the perfect ways of handling their case. The approach is required to help provide clinically and culturally competent care for the bisexual community (Zeeman et al., 2019). Research studies indicate that most physicians have failed to provide the right healthcare services due to a lack of adequate knowledge regarding the transgender community (Henry et al., 2020). In most cases, these medical providers are unaware of the unique needs of lesbians, bisexuals, and the transgender group. Therefore, the new policy calls for the provision of knowledge that will equip the physicians with the needs of the particular group and the best ways of handling them.
Including LGBT health issues in the physician education system will be a powerful resource to direct healthcare providers on how to treat LGBT people. It will emphasize the need to respect the patient’s rights while at the same time providing affordable health care. The training will further help spell out the unique needs of this community and make the professionals develop the proper knowledge and skills to handle the cases. Exposure to bisexual and transgender knowledge will help medical practitioners learn how to take care of their medical history and increase the likelihood of handling these members professionally. Therefore, colleges should recognize the value of incorporating the knowledge into their curriculum and future work. During this inclusion period, they must be able to identify the challenges faced by the group as well as the possible best strategies that they may use to curb the issues.
This policy calls for two critical ways of including the LGBT in the health care curriculum. These include the complete revision and addition of the LGBT health issues in the syllabus. The approach will help to accommodate critical issues such as sexual orientation, challenges, and how to cope effectively. The above ideas will help medical practitioners understand these issues and work on the possible best modalities of reducing their adverse effects on society. Finally, the new curriculum will help the academic institutions to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for not only LGBT students but also for everyone who may be interested in learning the critical issues affecting these members. The approach should further be transferred not only within the department and critical areas within the educational institutions to help sensitize embers. The approach will be a powerful tool in creating an accepting environment for the minority group.
Conclusion
It is evident that despite the continuous growth of the LGBT community across the globe, these members continue to face various challenges within the healthcare system. LGBT persons are more likely to experience poor health than heterosexual people. These troubles range from limited access to health care, discrimination, and lack of ideal insurance coverage to care for their needs. Therefore, developing policies promoting access to care through health care insurance will create positive change. Second, there is a need for hospitals and medical facilities to allow LGBT to participate in their family health services. An above approach is a powerful tool for improving inclusivity and reducing discrimination. Finally, there is a need to promote medical education programs to include LGBT health issues will create a tremendous change. Applying the above four policies will improve the healthcare system and the overall health of the minority group. Therefore, the American medical department should take the initiative and work towards implementing the above policy recommendations. The national medical department should work with all relevant authorities to ensure that they act on the policies to create a difference in the lives of millions of Americans in this category.
References
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Henry, R. S., Perrin, P. B., Sawyer, A., & Pugh, M. (2020). Health conditions, access to care, mental health, and wellness behaviors in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adults. International Journal of Chronic Diseases, 2020. Web.
Ufomata, E., Eckstrand, K. L., Spagnoletti, C., Veet, C., Walk, T. J., Webb, C.,… & Hasley, P. (2020). A comprehensive curriculum for internal medicine residents on primary care of patients identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. MedEdPORTAL, 16, 10875. Web.
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