Perception of the quality of medical care in patients from the LGBT+ community

Abstract

Abstract Background Mexico does not have comprehensive care services for members of the LGBT+ community, who also still suffer from a social context that still develops between traditions of inequality and lack of inclusion. Objective: To determine the factors associated with the perception of good quality of medical care in patients from the LGBT+ community Methods A cross-sectional, observational, prospective and analytical study was carried out between November and April 2023. Members of the LGBT+ community of Veracruz, Mexico were included; Subjects with visual or hearing disabilities or some psychological disorder that affects the perception of behavior were excluded. Data collection was done through Google Forms. The SPSS v22 program was used, X2 test, Odds Ratio (OR) and confidence interval (CI95%). Results 489 subjects were included, 295 (60.6%) use the public medical system, 155 (31.7%) consider a medical specialty is necessary to care for the LGBT+ community and 150 (30.7 %) indicates that the specialty should only be for care of patients with gender change; 297 (60.7%) perceive that they receive good quality medical care and 69 (14.1%) have perceived that they have been denied consultation because they belong to the LGBT+ community. The factors associated (OR/CI95%) to the perception of good medical care is the lack of: a family doctor (0.4/0.3-0.6), discomfort on physical examination (13.1/6.9-24.0), verbal abuse (13.3 /6.7-26.0), sexual harassment (5.1/2.7-9.5), physical harassment (11.5/4.7-28.0), discomfort of the doctor during the consultation (10/6.0-19.2), breach of confidentiality (7.2/3.7-14.1), denying care (12.7/6.3-25.6) (p < 0.05). Conclusions The factors associated with the perception of a good quality of care in patients from the LGBT+ community are similar to those reported in the literature within any community, which invites health institutions to reinforce their inclusion programs, to reduce acts of discrimination. Key messages • Health systems need to consider care for the LGBT+ community from specialists who can make a comprehensive assessment that favors adequate medical care. • Discrimination is still present within the medical care of patients from the LGBT+ community, so it is essential that the doctor is trained and sensitized in the processes of inclusion.