Florida National University LGBT Group Accessing Healthcare Discussion

LGBT community health care has been largely affected by discriminatory practices due to social norms and stigma. Many efforts have been taken by nursing as a whole to provide culturally competent health care to LGBTQ individuals and communities since the 1950s, but there is still much to be done (Mason, Gardner, Hopkins Outlaw, & O’grady, 2016). In 2015, a survey conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality showed that LGBT individuals still suffer negative experiences like harassment and mistreatment (Ding, 2020). Nurse direct relation to patients poses a fundamental factor in changing the way LGBT members are treated, engaging in a quality, safe, and culturally competent care that respects and treats the individual as a human being, avoiding any prejudices and intolerances (Mason, Gardner, Hopkins Outlaw, & O’grady, 2016). Nurses have the duty to care for their patients with the same standards, quality, and privileges, no matter the sexual orientation or preferences of the person being cared for, mostly when the LGBT community can still be susceptible to disparities and inadequate care standards.

There are still significant steps that nurses can take to help in reducing discriminatory practices and improve healthcare equal opportunities for individuals from the LGBT community. A powerful tool that nurses can use in this regard is coalitions. Anti-discrimination advocacy needs collective action to advance to policymakers, and coalitions are a vital instrument to take action in this regard (Mason, Gardner, Hopkins Outlaw, & O’grady, 2016). One of the areas that still need enhancement and present significant opportunities to nurses for advocating for care equality is related to individuals who do not participate in committed relationships for being single or participating in non-traditional relationships. Campaigning for creating awareness in policymakers through interviews, e-mails, or writing letters is also crucial to support LGBT community healthcare access opportunities (Fredriksen-Goldsen et al., 2014). Another way nurses can promote healthcare equality is by engaging with their local representatives to advocate for the adoption of anti-discrimination practices in their community healthcare institutions by promoting inclusive and non-discriminatory regulations (Durso et al., 2017).

From the Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing, the one most related to this issue is number VI, “Health Policy and Advocacy”. Graduates with a Master’s degree in nursing develop skills for promoting health for LGBT individuals and communities, improve the healthcare system for reducing discriminatory practices, advancing equality values through policy advocacy and activism (The Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing, 2011). That essential calls for nurses to participate in policy elaboration and application for improving community health that also contributes to the advancement of the profession. In this specific case, support for eliminating social norms and stigma against LGBT community members is crucial to granting them better access to cultural and competent health care (The Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing, 2011).

References

Ding, J. (2020, January 20). Improving transgender or gender non-conforming health care quality. Retrieved November 11, 2020, from www.jointcommission.org website: https://www.jointcommission.org/en/resources/news-and-multimedia/blogs/improvement-insights/2020/01/02/improving-transgender-or-gender-non-conforming-health-care-quality/

Durso, L., Rooney, C., Grubert, S., Singh, S., Mirza, S., Bewkes, F., … Clark, D. (2017, August). Advancing LGBTQ equality through local executive action. Retrieved from Center for American Progress website: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbtq-righ…

Fredriksen-Goldsen, K. I., Simoni, J. M., Kim, H.-J., Lehavot, K., Walters, K. L., Yang, J., … Muraco, A. (2014). The health equity promotion model: Reconceptualization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health disparities. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(6), 653–663. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000030

Mason, D. J., Gardner, D. B., Hopkins Outlaw, F., & O’grady, E. T. (2016). Policy & politics in nursing and health care (7th ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier.

The Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing. (2011). Retrieved from https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/Publication…