Health workers urged to support rights

Health workers urged to support rights

A Melbourne researcher and GP has called on health professionals to take a stand for LGBTI rights in aid of good health.

Dr Ruth McNair said the coming-out process should be considered a health issue because it can take a heavy toll on people’s health.

McNair said even though Australia is more accepting of homosexuality, trans and intersex people, coming out can still be met with discrimination and rejection.

“Disclosure of sexual orientation has long been regarded as a positive step towards a healthy and secure identity; however, it may equally have negative consequences in oppositional social contexts,” McNair said.

“Homophobic attitudes and discrimination contribute significantly to many health disparities experienced by LGBTI people.”

McNair said research indicates LGBTI people experience higher rates of depression and anxiety, self-harm and suicidality, have a higher prevalence of risk factors for cancer and cardiovascular disease and lower rates of preventive screening.

The LGBTI health expert’s calls, published in the online edition of The Medical Journal of Australia last week, come as figures from a NSW study of same-sex attracted women reveal alarming rates of poor health.

The 2010 Sydney Women and Sexual Health study of almost 1000 women showed 64 percent had accessed psychological services, while 42 percent had received a mental health diagnosis.

Up to 35 percent of those surveyed were smokers, compared to 16 percent in the general female population. In the past six months, 47 percent had used one or more illicit drugs and up to 56 percent reported drinking at a risky level.

The largest national study of LGBTI health, Private Lives, was conducted in 2005 and found nearly three-quarters of respondents reported experiencing depression. A further 16 percent indicated they’d had suicidal thoughts in the two weeks prior to completing the survey.

The second Private Lives study’s report will be released in April.

McNair said individual health care providers have an obligation to patients to be informed about LGBTI health issues.

In 2009 the Brumby Government launched a standards guide for more inclusive health care for LGBTI Victorians. The guide was sent to health care providers across the state — the first move of its kind in Australia.McNair is a general practitioner at the Northside Clinic and associate professor in general practice at the University of Melbourne.

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