Care of Individuals Who Identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and/or Queer, Intersex, or Asexual: A Position Paper

Socioecological Predictors of Resilience in Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals

Many factors affect an individual's resilience. Low resilience has been attributed to increased stress, anxiety, depression, and suicidality within the LGBTQIA + population, which is heightened compared to different populations. This study identifies predictors of resilience in the LGBTQIA + population and aims to identify predicting factors at all levels of the socioecological model. This was a cross-sectional study of data from a web-based survey that was conducted from January to February 2022. A national sample of 1033 LGBTQIA + adults was utilized for hierarchical regression analysis. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed for total resilience, which had an average score of 143.66 (SD = 33.88) and accounted for 53.4% of resiliency variance. Factors that were found to decrease an individuals resiliency score were depression, stress, suicidality, and isolation discrimination distress. Factors found to increase an individuals resiliency scores are college graduate 4 years+, married, outness, personal comfortability with being SGM, gender expression discrimination distress, and vicarious discrimination distress. Understanding the factors that influence resilience is vital to improving the resilience of the LGBTQIA + communities. Interventions that focus on decreasing depression, stress, and suicidality may be particularly impactful for all types of resilience.

Exploring Health Care Access Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Populations in Orange County, California: A Pilot Cross-sectional Study

There are approximately 90 000 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in Orange County, California. LGBT individuals have significant health disparities, particularly if they are from racial or ethnic minority groups and/or have a disability. There are structural and access barriers in the health care system that increase these health disparities. These individuals experience discriminatory situations when accessing health care and mental health services, which may affect their health-seeking behaviors. The purpose of this pilot quantitative cross-sectional study was to gather information about the current health care experiences and needs of this LGBT population including priority health issues, physical and mental health care utilization, and perceived adequacy of LGBT-friendly physical and mental health care providers. These findings will inform organizational strategies for nursing administrators and other health care leaders when tailoring, planning, and redesigning structures that meaningfully address the service needs of this at-risk group. Seventy-five participants were recruited from 2 organizations serving the LGBT community to complete an online survey. Findings include trouble finding an LGBT competent provider, delays or being unable to access care, and worried about losing insurance. Most participants needed to visit multiple different locations to receive care and preferred a 1-stop shop.