Health services and intersections of care: promises and pitfalls experienced by LGBTQ + Latino/a emerging adults

Abstract

LGBTQ + young people of color manage societal marginalization related to their LGBTQ + and racial/ethnic identities, which can shape health challenges. Despite their elevated need for responsive health services, cultural competence among service providers has largely focused on race/ethnicity, rather than LGBTQ + status, resulting in a lack of inclusive care. To understand how to better serve marginalized young adults through elevating their diverse voices, we employ an intersectional lens of emerging adulthood to qualitatively explore the health service experience narratives of 41 LGBTQ + Latino/a emerging adults between 18 and 25. First, most participants stressed that being perceived as young constrained their patient-provider interactions and limited their health care autonomy. Secondly, participants encountered a continuum of service providers that ranged across prejudice, ignorance, and acceptance tied to the young person’s LGBTQ + and intersecting identities. Finally, participants outlined what they preferred when it came to health care services. This study has important implications for how health service providers may establish inclusive health care that promotes marginalized emerging adults’ autonomy and wellbeing.