The article discusses the difference in the mental and physical health of the LGBT youth with the aim of enhancing mindfulness among doctors on the current disparities in this community. The paper will raise the issue to the physician to promote more extensive, confirmatory, and others compassionate medical care to the LGBT people group. LGBT youth get poor quality care as a result of a lack of their healthcare need by the providers, stigma, and insensitivity to their unique needs. Compared to the general population, the risk for STDs, substance abuse, bullying, isolation, and suicide is higher in LGBT youths (Hafeez et al., 2017). Finally, the paper aims to highlight the factors that prompt the poorer well-being results, social imbalances, and medicinal services inconsistencies in LGBT youth when contrasted with their heterosexual partners
The paper reports that in a survey conducted in Boston, Massachusetts (n=1320), 10% were LGBT with 58% of them females with the respondents aged between 13 to 19 years (Hafeez et al., 2017). The report also reports that LGBT youth showed significantly higher depressive symptoms and suicidal ideations than heterosexual and non-transgendered youth. According to Hafeez et al., (2017) the report further claims a more elevated risk of self-harm in LGBT youth (21%) than the heterosexual and non-transgendered youth (6%). The article further reveals that the likelihood of the LGBT youth being secluded and detached from social setups is high increasing the risk of depressive symptoms.
According to Hafeez et al., (2017), there are increased incidents of STDs among LGBT youth because of the higher likelihood of engaging in high-risk sexual behaviors. Sexual minority youth are exposed to higher risk (twice) the heterosexual men in the rates of STDs such as HIV, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. There are also provocative sexual behaviors on sexual minorities increasing the risk of recreational abuse, obesity, and risk factors related to cancer.
The LGBT youth have struggled with health care issues regarding the increasing prevalence of diseases, inappropriate training of physicians, and disparities in health care. There has been evidence of poor well-being of LGBT youth when compared to their heterosexual counterparts. During their adolescent years the LGBT youth experience a lot of resentment caused by homophobia and heterosexualism at home, school, and in the community, hence, not accepted into the community (Hafeez et al., 2017). Therefore, they result in unhealthy habits within the community and interpersonal violence. Compared to their heterosexual counterparts, LGBT youth involve in high-chance sexual practices earlier in their life because of companion exploitation, youth physical and sexual mishandling, drug abuse, and vagrancy because of family dismissal. There is discrimination when delivering health care at clinics and hospitals due to fear of the LGBT youth sharing their sexual identities. Lack of communication causes poor therapeutic alliance as well as inadequate intervention to prevent STDs.
There is required by partners in the general public to build up an arrangement that is firm and manages these difficulties confronted by the LGBT community. These stakeholders that can help reduce these disparities are the parentages, educators, medical personnel, and the public as a whole. When formulating policies, the policy creators need to engage these key stakeholders to curb the challenges such as societal disparities, and lack of effective health care using messages that are culturally appropriate (Hafeez et al., 2017). The physicians need to be trained adequately so that they can be sensitive to the community appropriately to the needs of these interventions. Finally, more research needs to be conducted on the issue concerning LGBT youth including both mental and physical well-being, social welfare, and employment opportunities.
References
Hafeez, H., Zeshan, M., Tahir, M. A., Jahan, N., & Naveed, S. (2017). Health care disparities among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth: a literature review. Cureus, 9(4).
