Bringing Pride into Perspective: Driving Better Access to LGBTQ+ Care and Conversations

This month, we interviewed 3 LGBTQ+ individuals at Avalere Health for their perspectives on celebrating pride, accessing healthcare, and building an inclusive culture.

There are a multitude of identities and perspectives within the LGBTQ+ community, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual, and pansexual individuals, plus an openness around relationships that don’t necessarily follow cisheteronormative expectations. However, many of the needs and experiences of individuals who identify with the LGBTQ+ community are not always taken into consideration by healthcare services.

A 2018 survey conducted by the Government Equalities Office (GEO) in the UK showed evidence that LGBTQ+ individuals disproportionately experience worse health outcomes and are more dissatisfied with health services and experiences than those who identify as heterosexual.

Nikki, Strategist and Member of the LGBTQ+ Employee Network Group (ENG) at Avalere Health, says, “My identity as a lesbian is my favorite thing about myself—I’ve come to love my identity and the role it plays in my life. But it comes with the knowledge that you’re different from those around you and the systems we live in are not created for us.”

“Healthcare is one of the cruelest parts of the human experience for those who have intersecting marginal identities. It’s so vulnerable and, at times, problematic for those who need it the most,” she says. This is in part due to a lack of knowledge among healthcare professionals (HCPs) about the health needs of the LGBTQ+ community, further exacerbated by those who intentionally discriminate against LGBTQ+ individuals.

Nikki urges, “We need to make more room for queer and trans people, particularly those with intersectional identities, to share their stories—they need more visibility and compassion from both a human and policy perspective.”

Bringing queerness into healthcare

According to Folx Health, cisheteronormativity is “a patriarchal system that normalizes those who are cisgender and heterosexual. It also centers the gender binary where there are only two gender options of male and female.”

Perpetuating cisheteronormativity can be incredibly harmful and inconsiderate of individuals whose gender and sexuality fall outside of the binary norms of a monogamous, heterosexual relationship. For example, pregnancy and having children is an experience that is still deeply rooted in heterosexual standards and expectations.

“The journey towards becoming parents for me and my wife, as a lesbian couple, has been very medicalized. Even the definition of infertility is heteronormative—neither of us are infertile just because we don’t have nonmonetized access to sperm, but we are required to see an infertility specialist to move forward in the process of getting pregnant,” shares Nikki.

Even with simple procedures such as blood donation, LGBTQ+ people face a variety of barriers. Until 2021, the UK had policies that restricted gay and bisexual men from donated blood unless they abstained from sex for 3 months beforehand.

Kyle, Account Supervisor in our US Marketing team, says, “Even as a regular blood donor, as soon I came out, I was asked questions about sexual activity and HIV—questions that can become discriminatory, so as to flat-out deny a gay man from donating blood even if he checks all the right boxes besides his sexual orientation. This is not only an act of discrimination, but it prevents better access to something as easy and lifesaving as blood donations.”

For individuals with intersecting marginal identities, the barriers can be even greater. Particularly for queer and trans youths, access to healthcare and information applicable to their experience can be difficult. These patients may be asked to divulge their sexual orientation and activities to a healthcare professional who may not be equipped for or empathetic to the needs of someone who may not be in a monogamous and/or heterosexual pairing.

As all healthcare professionals are likely to interact with and care for members of the LGBTQ+ community, it is increasingly important that they be made aware of LGBTQ+ history, learn the unique health concerns and risks of different identities, and provide compassionate care for better health outcomes. This includes awareness of the substantial challenges, social pressures, and judgment members of the community may receive due to their identity, and the reluctance they may have accessing healthcare as a result.

Kyle says, “Assumptions are stereotypes. Instead, we need providers who are interested and compassionate about the queer experience, and companies and representatives who can help them get there.”

The potential for discrimination or a negative clinical experience can discourage LGBTQ+ individuals from seeking out healthcare at all, according to the Center for American Progress.

In a report on LGBTQ+ Americans, the Movement Advancement Project found that 54% of transgender adults live in majority-rural states where access to affirming sources of healthcare and information, support from empathetic communities and experts, and transgender-inclusive laws and policies are much more limited. To combat this and additional barriers to inclusive healthcare, there are now several institutions that exist specifically to serve the health needs of queer, trans, and nonbinary people, including Folx Health (USA), Plume (USA), and the Triangle Project (South Africa).

From providing an affirming space for members of the LGBTQ+ community to learn about and explore their identity to offering the medical resources to bring access to individuals of any background, these organizations are truly working to serve the unmet needs of the LGBTQ+ population.

Wendy, Senior Medical Copywriter, says, “Some resources would have been immensely helpful when I was figuring things out. All I had was Google, and my girlfriend, and I only really discovered that I was pansexual and prefer women when I was 42 years old.”

Cultivating a culture of inclusivity

There is a great deal of potential to create interesting, powerful, and relevant products and services for the individuals and communities who need it, such as accommodating trans men who have not yet fully transitioned and want to have a child. And when healthcare professionals make decisions, biopharmaceutical companies have a duty to provide relevant information that is inclusive and considerate of intersectional and marginal identities for patients to make an informed decision.

“While serving queer folk may not necessarily be the inherent goal of a product or service, including various identities in the marketing and material does give us more visibility and normalizes LGBTQ+ folk in the same spaces as heterosexual and cisgender individuals,” says Wendy.

“In my Marketing role, I always look to showcase diversity. With clients, we need to ask the difficult questions to make sure we’re backing up our diverse marketing with a product that truly does serve those communities,” says Kyle.

Many companies showcase “Pride” only during June instead of year-round. Within these campaigns, the most marginalized individuals in the community are often still shoved to the side and their progress is appropriated. Instead, expanding to shed light on the trans community, LGBTQ+ people of color, and elder queer people is important not only during Pride month but throughout the year.

What it takes to make better health happen

At Avalere Health, we’re showcasing our commitment to inclusivity through dedicated Employee Network Groups (ENGs) that offer a safe space for all to learn and live their truth. With their help, we’re able to bring the stories of a diverse range of individuals in the LGBTQ+ community to light, showcasing not only their identity and experience but their incredible work and continued resilience.

From the addition of gender pronouns in our email signatures to creating safe spaces and open minds within our hiring practices, and setting up our first LGBTQ+ Employee Network Group, we’re proud to cultivate a diverse and talented community of multifaceted individuals who celebrate the skill, experience, and empathy that our LGBTQ+ colleagues bring to the workplace.

Learn more about our D&I initiatives and find our career opportunities here.