Trout Library Blog

To mark LGBTQ Pride Month, we would like to take the opportunity to highlight some sources that will provide an understanding of the specific struggles that members of the LGBTQ community face in terms of health and accessing the health care system.

The stress and anxiety that come from fearing and experiencing discrimination and stigmatization often lead to poorer overall health outcomes for LGBTQ than for the broader population -- including more heart disease and high blood pressure, as well as the early onset of disabilities. Click here to read a Healthline article that provides a good summary of these issues.

Because those who are LGBTQ face a significant number of health disparities, it is important for students planning to enter health fields to have a full understanding of these differences so that they can serve LGBTQ populations compassionately and effectively. A September 2018 peer-reviewed article in the PLOS ONE database compares the preparedness of medical, dental, and nursing students to address LGBTQ health. The article is open access and does not require a password. Click here to read it.   

There are two books in the EBSCO eBooks Academic Collection database that would be very useful for studying the topic of LGBTQ health. To access them, a username and password are required. You can find this information in the Library Database Password List under Quicklinks in Harcum Hatch. Choose the username and password for the EBSCO databases.

The first book is Health Care Disparities and the LGBT Population, edited by Vickie L. Harvey and Teresa Heinz Housel. This book contains a series of essays that cover issues such as low rates of health insurance coverage in the LGBTQ community, high rates of stress due to systematic harassment, stigma, and discrimination; and a lack of cultural competency in the health care system. It aims to increase people's understanding of the social and structural inequalities that LGBTQ populations experience in order to improve the lives of entire communities, medical care, and prevention programs and services.

Health Care Disparities and the LGBT Population by Vickie L. Harvey (Editor); Teresa Heinz Housel (Editor)

ISBN: 9780739187029

Publication Date: 2014

The second book is The Remedy: Queer and Trans Voices on Health and Health Care, edited by Zena Sharman. It is an anthology of real-life stories from queer and trans people about their own health care experiences and challenges, from gay men living with HIV who remember the systemic resistance to their health care needs, to a lesbian couple dealing with the experience of cancer. It also includes essays by health care providers, activists and leaders who write about the challenges, politics, and opportunities surrounding LGBTQ health issues.

 

 

The Remedy: Queer and Trans Voices on Health and Health Care by Zena Sharman (Editor)

ISBN: 9781551526584

Publication Date: 2016

Kanopy has a number of documentaries on LGBTQ healthcare. If you need help accessing Kanopy we have a tutorial.

For more in-depth documentaries about transgender healthcare, Kanopy has an 11-part documentary called Transgender Tuesdays. Part one is a 60 minute documentary that covers the history of transgender healthcare and looks at a ground-breaking clinic and the change it made to the lives of the people who received care. Parts two through 11 are each a short (less than 5-minute) narrative of individuals who received care at a clinic in San Francisco.  

 

 

Transgender Tuesdays by Mark Freeman

Publication Date: 2014

Finally, Gen Silent - Discrimination Against LGBT Seniors documents discrimination in long-term care. It interviews six LGBTQ individuals and asks them if they will hide their lives, friends, spouses and loved ones in order to survive the care system. There is full length (60-minute) version and an abridged (24-minute) version. 

 

 

Gen Silent - Discrimination Against LGBT Seniors by Interrobang Productions / Stu Maddux Films

Publication Date: 2012

For more information on LGBTQ issues, our Diversity & Gender Studies library guide and our new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion guide will provide you with some selections.

 

If you have any questions about these sources or any others, please feel free to email us at library@harcum.edu.

 

Happy LGBTQ pride month!