LGBTQ community history
Political, legal, and economic challenges include the lack of regulations to protect such people from biased attitudes among employers.
Forms of discrimination
Regardless of the attempts to build a tolerant society, LGBTQ communities remain highly stigmatized and experience various forms of discrimination. Historically, this group experienced institutional forms of discrimination as national policies prevented them from legalizing their relations and building couples. Moreover, the law offered a list of possible punishments for same-sex couples (Zajac & Godshall, 2020).
Today, the situation altered, and representatives of LGBTQ communities mainly face individual discrimination (Sachdeva et al., 2021). People might still fail to accept them as members of their societies or use biased attitudes to cooperate with this vulnerable group (Zajac & Godshall, 2020). Under these conditions, LGBTQ communities still experience pressure and suffer from a worse quality of life than the majority. It gives rise to health problems and the development of mental diseases with high suicide rates (Sachdeva et al., 2021). These facts show the need for intervention and improvement of the situation.
LGBTQ community’ immigration experience
Trends and barriers
For decades, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer had been viewed as undesired people by the U.S. government. The law prevented LGBTQ people from entering the state and becoming citizens. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 had the concept of sexual deviation prohibiting immigrants from arriving and living on the territory of the USA (Sachdeva et al., 2021). For LGBTQ representatives, it introduced additional difficulties as trying to find a place for new and safe homes, and following the American dream, they had to move to other areas with different attitudes to them. Today, the law is different, and all people, regardless of their status, can apply for becoming a citizen, and their sexuality cannot serve as the barrier for a successful migration to the USA.
LGBTQ community’s health outcomes
Prejudice and health outcomes
The social pressure, combined with the lack of understanding and prejudiced attitudes, precondition the development of severe mental illnesses among LGBTQ people and the emergence of suicidal behaviors (Kaniuka et al., 2019). Statistics show that suicides are the primary cause of death for this cohort (Aranmolate et al., 2017). It becomes a barrier to improving the health of the nation and guaranteeing well-being to all people in the state. At the same time, social isolation and interpersonal dysfunction serve as factors promoting mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety disorders. For this reason, more effective methods to work with this cohort should be implemented.
Access to care is limited because of the poor understanding of LGBTQ people’s needs
Suicides remain the leading cause of death among LGBTQ people.
Best practices for healthcare practitioners to engage with the group
Communication is viewed as the central practice for healthcare practitioners to engage with the group. Recent research shows that social attachment is protective against suicides among the LGBTQ population (Kaniuka et al., 2019). It means that cooperating with this cohort and trying to understand their needs, health, and social workers can help to eliminate the existing biases and prejudiced attitudes. At the same time, they can recommend effective and professional psychological support groups and therapies to avoid suicidal thoughts and behaviors (Zajac & Godshall, 2020). It will help to resolve some health issues linked to LGBTQ communities and improve the quality of their lives.
Supporting behaviors can also improve engagement and contribute to better needs assessment and understanding.
References
Aranmolate, R., Bogan, D. R., Hoard, T., & Mawson, A. R. (2017). Suicide risk factors among LGBTQ youth. JSM Schizophrenia, 2(2), 1-4.
Kaniuka, A., Pugh, K. C., Jordan, M., Brooks, B., Dodd, J., Mann, A. K., Williams, S. L., & Hirsch, J. K. (2019). Stigma and suicide risk among the LGBTQ population: Are anxiety and depression to blame and can connectedness to the LGBTQ community help? Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 23(2), 205–220. Web.
Sachdeva, I., Aithal, S., Yu, W., Toor, P., & Tan, J. (2021). The disparities faced by the LGBTQ+ community in times of COVID-19. Psychiatry Research, 297, 1-2. Web.
Zajac, C., & Godshall, K. C. (2020). Empowerment through accessibility: Community needs assessment data for LGBTQ communities. Social Work in Public Health, 35(6), 483–493. Web.