Health Care Disparities and the LGBT Population

Edited by Vickie L. Harvey and Teresa Heinz Housel - Contributions by Gary L. Kreps; Allan D. Peterkin; Karina Willes; Mike Allen; Jimmie Manning; Katy Ross; Juliann C. Scholl; Gina Castle Bell; Gilbert Gonzales; Ryan Moltz; Miriam King; Dawn L. Strongin; Marc J. Silva; Fredrick Smiley; Alicia VandeVusse; Sonny Nordmarken; Reese Kelly; Bethany Coston and Michael Warren Tumolo

Health Care Disparities and the LGBT Population addresses a people whose lack of health care access, including mistreatment and refusal of services, are often omitted from discussions about health care and insurance reform. Research suggests that LGBT people experience worse health outcomes than their heterosexual counterparts. Low rates of health insurance coverage, high rates of stress due to systematic harassment, stigma, discrimination, and lack of cultural competency in the health care system frequently manifest in negative health-related behaviors. The dearth of data collection on sexual orientation and identity in state and federal health care surveys has led to inadequate information about LGBT populations, and has impeded the establishment of health programs and public policies that benefit them. With its diverse perspectives, this book will not only benefit LGBT people, but will also more broadly improve the lives of entire communities, medical care, and prevention programs and services. This research provides a better understanding of the social and structural inequalities that LGBT populations experience. Improvements to our country’s health care system should go beyond just providing universal insurance and should ensure equitable health care for all.

Lexington Books

Pages: 254 • Trim: 6½ x 9⅜

978-0-7391-8702-9 • Hardback • April 2014 • $128.00 • (£98.00)

978-1-4985-3605-9 • Paperback • March 2016 • $54.99 • (£42.00)

Subjects: Social Science / Gay Studies, Language Arts & Disciplines / Communication Studies, Medical / Health Policy

Health Care Disparities and the LGBT Population

Hardback

Paperback

Summary

Health Care Disparities and the LGBT Population addresses a people whose lack of health care access, including mistreatment and refusal of services, are often omitted from discussions about health care and insurance reform. Research suggests that LGBT people experience worse health outcomes than their heterosexual counterparts. Low rates of health insurance coverage, high rates of stress due to systematic harassment, stigma, discrimination, and lack of cultural competency in the health care system frequently manifest in negative health-related behaviors. The dearth of data collection on sexual orientation and identity in state and federal health care surveys has led to inadequate information about LGBT populations, and has impeded the establishment of health programs and public policies that benefit them. With its diverse perspectives, this book will not only benefit LGBT people, but will also more broadly improve the lives of entire communities, medical care, and prevention programs and services. This research provides a better understanding of the social and structural inequalities that LGBT populations experience. Improvements to our country’s health care system should go beyond just providing universal insurance and should ensure equitable health care for all.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 254 • Trim: 6½ x 9⅜

978-0-7391-8702-9 • Hardback • April 2014 • $128.00 • (£98.00)

978-1-4985-3605-9 • Paperback • March 2016 • $54.99 • (£42.00)

Subjects: Social Science / Gay Studies, Language Arts & Disciplines / Communication Studies, Medical / Health Policy

Author

Vickie L. Harvey is professor of communication studies at California State University, Stanislaus.

Teresa Heinz Housel is associate professor of communication at Hope College.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Gary L. Kreps
Foreword
Allan D. Peterkin

Part I: Constructing Identity by Coming Out to Your Physician
1. An Introduction to the Loosely Knit Patchwork of LGBT Health Care
Teresa Heinz Housel and Vickie L. Harvey
1. The Importance of Sexual Orientation Disclosure to Physicians for Women Who Have Sex with Women
Karina Willes and Mike Allen
1. Coming Out Conversations and Gay/Bisexual Men’s Sexual Health: A Constitutive Model Study
Jimmie Manning
1. Shaping Self with the Doctor: The Construction of Identity for Trans Patients
Katy Ross, Juliann C. Scholl, and Gina Castle Bell

Part II: Access, Disparities and Harassment Under the Guise of Policies
1. Health Insurance Coverage For Same-Sex Couples: Disparities and Trends under DOMA
Gilbert Gonzales, Ryan Moltz, and Miriam King
1. Carving Triangles into Squares: The Effects of LGBTQ Stigma Related Stressors During Youth, Adulthood, and Aging
Dawn L. Strongin, Marc J. Silva, and Fredrick Smiley
1. Reproductive Physicians’ Treatment of Lesbian Patients in Germany and the United States
Alicia VandeVusse

Part III: Silencing, Violence, and Other Forms of Intimidation of LGBT People
1. Limiting Transgender Health: Administrative Violence and Microaggressions in Health Care Systems
Sonny Nordmarken and Reese Kelly
1. Women’s Health, Health Care Service Utilization, and Experience of Intimate Partner Violence in the United States
Bethany Coston
1. Political Activism as a Health-Giving Activity: Transforming Silence into Language and Action
Michael Warren Tumolo

Reviews

This collection particularly underscores the importance of two major health policy issues—gaps in access to insurance coverage for LGBT people and discrimination against transgender people in the health system—that health professionals and those working for LGBT equality alike need to take up in earnest, especially in the era of the opportunities for change offered by the Affordable Care Act. The book explicitly frames its engagement with LGBT health issues through the framework of the unprecedented progress in public policy that has been achieved over the last five years. It demonstrates how research and policy can go hand in hand to define opportunities for change, and it will help readers from all backgrounds craft real solutions that work for LGBTQ people, our families, and our communities.
— Kellan Baker, Center for American Progress

The editors’ coverage of topics related to health disparities for sexual minority men and women is impressive. This comprehensive volume will be an essential resource for researchers and policy-makers, as well as health care providers and consumers, who are interested in understanding and ultimately reducing health disparities for the LGBT community.
— Robin Lewis, Old Dominion University

Health Care Disparities and the LGBT Population

Health Care Disparities and the LGBT Population

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