Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

The Consequences Of Homophobia: Analysis Of Discriminatory Medical And Legislative Policies And Their Influence On Health Disparities, Kaiden J. Fandel

Honors Thesis

Are there specific roots that influence the introduction and incorporation of discriminatory medical policies? What are the sources of such stigma, discrimination, and prejudice, in what forms does such discrimination take place, and what negative impacts does such hatred have on health outcomes, quality of care, and health disparities? Through a review of existing literature on this topic, intertwining the examination of the evolution of discriminatory policies and other explanatory literature in the United States, this thesis aims to answer the questions above, and explain the roots of such homophobic discrimination and its prevalence in the United States. Through the …

Inclusion Of Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity (Sogi) Cultural Competence In Higher Education Healthcare Programs: A Scoping Review, Kristin Willey, Jennifer K. Fortuna, Jessica Guerra, Amanda Gross, Samantha Turner, Tara Grant, Betsy Williams

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Lack of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) cultural competence in healthcare providers contributes to poor health outcomes in individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and more (LGBTQIA+). However, SOGI is often overlooked in healthcare education. Existing research shows educational programs in the nursing, medical, and pharmacy professions are incorporating cultural competence training into the curricula. Few studies have explored how SOGI cultural competence is incorporated into occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT), and speech-language pathology (SLP) curricula. Clear guidelines for training on SOGI cultural competence are lacking in these professions. It is …

“We Are Doing The Absolute Most That We Can, And No One Is Listening”: Barriers And Facilitators To Health Literacy Within Transgender And Nonbinary Communities, C. Riley Hostetter, Jarrod Call, Donald R. Gerke, Brendon T. Holloway, N. Eugene Walls, Jennifer C. Greenfield

Graduate School of Social Work: Faculty Scholarship

Transgender and nonbinary (TNB) individuals face disparities in nearly every aspect of health. One factor associated with poor health outcomes in other marginalized populations is health literacy, yet no identified studies examine health literacy in TNB samples. Moreover, most health literacy frameworks focus primarily on the capacities of individual patients to understand and use healthcare information, with little attention given to provider literacy and environmental factors. In partnership with a statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization, we recruited 46 transgender and nonbinary individuals to participate in seven focus groups conducted in urban, suburban, and rural locations throughout Colorado. TNB participants consistently engaged …

The Use Of Simulation With The School Of Nursing And Health Professions (Sonhp) Prelicensure Students To Support Affirming Practice With Transgender Communities, Genevieve Charbonneau

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation investigates how prelicensure nursing students are prepared to address healthcare disparities with transgender patients, specifically through simulation scenarios at the University of San Francisco School of Nursing and Health Professions Simulation Center.

A critical review of current literature reveals how microaggressions against transgender communities create and sustain barriers to equitable healthcare. The qualitative study was designed to explore the lived experience of prelicensure nursing students who are actively seeking to understand the healthcare needs of transgender patients in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This was a qualitative research study including data that suggests that using simulation scenarios featuring …

Black Lips Don't Turn Blue: A Womanist Critique Of Discriminatory Language In Medical Education, Alison Lawrence

Womanist Ethics

This paper examines race and gender inequities in healthcare as it pertains to the unequal presentation of descriptors of illness in medical textbooks. The author adopts a womanist perspective to criticize the use of the white male body as the standard for all patients, which causes signs and symptoms in women and people of color to be dismissed as less important. Following an analysis of normalizing language in current medical texts as well as its consequences for patients, the author calls for a system-wide shift to more inclusive, intersectional medical education that not only acknowledges differences among patient groups, but …

Assessing Transgender Inclusion Within A Veterans Healthcare System: A Delphi Study, Kathy-Jo B. Lee

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

Transgender veterans have specific health care needs and often experience profound health disparities, barriers to accessing care, and varying degrees of stigma and discrimination. Yet, there is a lag in research regarding transgender persons in terms of the extent and impact of diversity and inclusion within healthcare. There is a need to further define inclusion and examine how this concept is operationalized in the healthcare settings. This study addressed the gap in knowledge gained from transgender healthcare research by establishing a consensus definition of transgender inclusion as well as identified contributing factors. The study also compared the end user perspectives …

In With A Runny Nose, Out In A Body Bag: Why Is It So Difficult For Black Women To Leave The Hospital Alive?, Chelsea Carter

Liberal Arts Capstones

In the Black community, there is an unspoken understanding about going to the doctor with a runny nose, and leaving in a body bag. A recent article published by The Oprah Magazine demonstrates that racism is rampant in the United States healthcare system, and it is taking the lives of Black women at an alarmingly disproportionate rate (Stallings, 2018). When seeking medical treatment, many Black women are at the mercy of doctors who hold an implicit bias against Black women. Simply put, implicit bias describes when people behave and treat others based on negative preconceptions they have about other people, …

An Intersectional Analysis Of Lgbtq+ Healthcare In The United States, Nicole Niles

Senior Honors Projects

LGBTQ+ healthcare has made some significant progress in the last few decades, yet countless studies have shown that the American healthcare system still lags behind in equitable healthcare. My project sought to identify the issues that prevent the LGBTQ+ community from receiving quality healthcare, which involved the curation of over twenty academic journal articles for an annotated bibliography, along with a paper discussing these articles.

One of the most important concepts to gender studies is intersectionality. Coined by legal theorist Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, intersectionality describes the concept of how one’s individual characteristics, including race, class, and gender, intersect and …

Rejection Sensitivity And The Intent To Seek Medical Help Among Gender Minority Individuals, Kellyann Garthe

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background: As members of a marginalized and socially devalued group, gender minority (GM) individuals regularly experience rejection in healthcare experiences. These rejecting experiences lead to barriers to healthcare access and health disparities. Consequently, GM individuals’ may develop anxious and avoidant attitudes toward their healthcare needs. When considering healthcare, an individual’s inherent attitude informs their intent to seek medical help (ISMH), defined as the attitude that influences one’s decision to seek medical help. When an individual has a hyper-sensitive reaction to perceived rejection, this is termed rejection sensitivity (RS).

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine if the independent …

Where Do We Go From Here?: Two Key Informants' Perspectives On How To Address Conscientious Objection In Top Provision In South Africa, Talia Parker

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This perspectives research endeavor examines the barriers to TOP access that arise from conscientious objection through the conflicting network of rights and legislation in South Africa. While previous research has evidenced the demonstrable barriers to accessing TOP care in South Africa, this project aims to push the existing literature and the field as a whole one step further to interrogate how to move forward within the realities of conscientious objection.

To do so, I conducted interviews with key informants in the field of reproductive healthcare provision, research, and activism in Cape Town on their perspectives about the practice of conscientious …

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender (Lgbt) Healthcare In Rural Settings: An Integrative Review Of The Literature, Caitlin Cox

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community is a unique population that has specific health issues and health care needs associated with lifestyle behaviors that increase risk for certain diseases. Health concerns include mental and behavioral health, issues associated with gender identity and relationships (i.e. intimate partner violence), sexually transmitted infections, and chronic illnesses. The research suggests poorer health outcomes for the LGBT population compared to heterosexual and/or cisgender counterparts. Most research conducted with LGBT populations occurred in more populated urban settings with very few studies focusing on this population in the rural context. Consequently, there is a paucity …

Access To Mental Health Care For Depression Among Latina Women In Adams County, Alison P. Lauro

Student Publications

This research project focused on what barriers prevent Latina women in Adams County from accessing mental health care. A survey was distributed to 52 women over several weeks. These participants, particularly immigrant and undocumented women, have lower rates of health insurance, low incomes, and limited transportation, and the county does not have accessible, Spanish speaking mental health professionals, which makes it nearly impossible for these women to access mental healthcare in the county.

Healthcare Providers’ Perceptions Of Pregnant Women, Allison Goderwis

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Health care providers’ (N = 421) implicit perceptions of pregnant women based on age, race or ethnicity, marital status, and socioeconomic status are assessed through a true-experiment design. Ordinal and binary regression analyses revealed that respondents felt more pity for an unmarried than married pregnant woman and more anger toward an unemployed pregnant woman without health insurance compared to a pregnant woman who was employed with health insurance. Male, Asian, and Hispanic respondents were less likely to help the pregnant woman, Black and protestant respondents were more likely to express some degree of anger toward the pregnant woman, and …

Reproductive Rights In Latin America: A Case Study Of Guatemala And Nicaragua, Katherine W. Bogen

Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark (SURJ)

A lack of access to contraceptives and legal abortion for women throughout the nations of Nicaragua and Guatemala creates critical health care problems. Moreover, rural and underprivileged women in Guatemala and Nicaragua are facing greater limitations to birth control access, demonstrating a classist aspect in the global struggle for female reproductive rights. Although some efforts have been made over the past half-century to initiate a dialogue on the failure of medical care in these nations to adequately address issues of maternal mortality and reproductive rights, the women's reproductive health movements of Nicaragua and Guatemala have struggled to reach an effective …

Goddesses Versus Gynecologists: An Analysis Of The History Of Women’S Healthcare, Marion A. Mckenzie

Student Publications

Starting from the downfall of Goddess cultures in Europe, women's health care has been negatively impacted for generations. The rise of the white, male Indo-European "dominator model" along with the witch craze, caused the end of widespread wise women traditions and pharmacopeia methods. After women's traditional voice was silenced, medical colleges were established to pronounce new, "professional" knowledge. Only those who attended these universities were allowed to legally practice medicine; however, during this time, medical research and treatments for women primarily included mutilation and painful, nonsensical regimens. The horrifying state of women's healthcare has since improved, but was originally a …

Muslim Women And United States Healthcare: Challenges To Access And Navigation, Dayna M. Seeger

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

This paper offers an analysis of the interactions of Muslim women in the US healthcare system in order to unpack challenges and propose potential accommodations. Islam may inform values or considerations in the context of other cultural factors or present Muslim women with specific challenges in seeking healthcare based on Islamic teachings or social constructs. This paper examines these factors by elaborating on an overview of Muslim interpretations of healthcare using religious authorities, text from the Qur’an, and social norms. It then delves into challenges faced by Muslim women in the US healthcare system and the implications of those challenges …