Learning, Understanding, and Compassion for Better Care

Understanding the diverse needs of the LGBTQ+ community is critical to providing high-quality care. Learning to compassionately address the needs of an individual service user is essential to providing LGBTQ+ folx seeking medical care, says Julie Papango, MLS(ASCPⁱ)^CM, and by doing so, healthcare providers can craft a tailormade approach to care based on the personal needs this community. Here, she shares her experience and insight.

In your experience, what obstacles does the LGBTQ+ community face when interacting with healthcare?
It is a great challenge overall because the healthcare needs of the LGBTQ+ community are as diverse as the identities. To find a “one stop shop” healthcare provider is very limited. From endocrinologist, infectious disease, sexual and reproductive health etc., the needs are varied and unique and to find an establishment that can cater to an individual's specific medical needs is the huge obstacle.

How can healthcare providers in the U.S. get a better understanding of the needs of LGBTQ+ patients in order to provide better health care?
They need to coordinate with grassroot organizations. These organizations always have a clearer perspective of what the members of the community need. By that, healthcare providers and healthcare networks can create referral programs within a network of providers that can address the specific need/s of the individual.

Tell us about your own personal experiences as an LGBTQ+ person in health care. How has it affected your career/your education?
It is hit and miss. As a student and in the early stages of my career I could not come out and express the self in my most authentic and shameless existence, knowing that my opportunities will be limited with the triad of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination being rampant. So, I needed to play my cards very well. It was challenging to break the stereotypes of a person of transgender experience being in fashion, sex work, and entertainment. I have nothing against those fields. There was just not representation that I have seen growing up. I needed to carve my own path or as how I like to call it, my own “yellow brick road with all sorts of colorful flowers on the side watered by my tears and strengthened by my sweat.” With that, I can say that I have managed to break the glass ceiling and am still continuing to create safe spaces and opportunities for other people.

What challenges have you encountered around increasing diversity and inclusion?
Basically, the prejudice and discrimination. I had experiences of not being hired for a job which I was told that I am over qualified just because of my gender identity and expression. Next is the challenge of representation, growing up not having an openly vocal LGBTQ+ person in healthcare that I can see as a "possibility model" and to tell myself that “I can be like them.” Third is breaking the glass ceiling of stereotypes, there are highly competent LGBTQ+ folx who are not given enough platforms or choose to dim their lights out of fear of being ostracized.

Why is it important for healthcare systems to recognize LGBTQ+ specific healthcare needs?
Like any other demographic of service users, when healthcare systems recognize the specific needs they can create an appropriate plan. When they have an appropriate plan, they can have a better approach on the needs of the community by identifying what they have, what is lacking, and how to bridge that gap. When they have a better approach, they can cater to the needs of the community with the most efficiency, utmost compassion, and greatest impact.

To read more Q&As with members of the LGBTQ+ community, click here.