Women’s Health

Women’s Health
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Over a long time in history, there has been deep prejudice towards the treatment of transgender/ lesbian /bisexual people in the community. This biased treatment towards such group of people entails the negative attitudes and stigmatization that is directed to them both in the private and public places (Roberts, 2006). It is worth noting that several kinds of abuse, as well as discrimination, have always been in the spotlight, their physical, psychological and mental impact remains unsolved. Therefore, the lesbians and the gay couple not only encounter difficulties within essential components of life such as employment, housing, the organizational configuration of the healthcare services but also personal and the cultural aspects. This essay aims to address the lesbians/ bisexual women’s problems in the context of health care services based on the case study in question.
Health factors and health risks have played a significant role in ease of communication between the lesbians and the medical practitioners. However, in the case provided it is important to note the behavioral factor whereby Betty is depressed due to her current situation. It is worth noting that in a bid for Betty to receive efficient standard primary health care, it is essential to understand the patient’s sexual orientation as well as her lack of health insurance coverage. The society’s prejudice towards the lesbian patients acts as a barrier to expressing themselves to the medical practitioners whenever they seek their services (Tracy & Junginger, 2007).

The sociocultural orientation of the society tends to discriminate the lesbian and gay people in our society.
The physical factors that are exhibited in this case include Betty’s health risk of cervical cancer. Notably, cervical cancer is one of the most common types of cancers that affect women. On the other hand, the mortality rates of the patients with cervical cancer tend to drastically reduce due to the cervical cancer screening test, pap smear. The sociocultural misguidance that Betty has is that lesbians are not supposed to go for this test since they do not engage in ‘real sex’. The importance of this screening is that it prevents the advancing of cervical cancer following early detection which calls for treatment of the premalignant lesions before the development of this disease. Therefore, this factor necessitates the need for all women to undergo the pap smear test.
The biophysical factor in Betty’s case is that her mother died of breast cancer. Therefore, cancer being a genetically transmitted disease, there could be a possibility of Betty having cancer too, and this is what makes her depressed.
Another health factor, in this case, is the victim’s lack of health coverage which is Betty’s main concern as well. In most instances, lesbian households often lack health insurance coverage and hence have no opportunity to enjoy the family-focused zone and other benefits that are accompanied by the family health cover. The health care system should adjust in a bid to cater for the lesbians’ health care needs as well. Lesbians just like other women face the same kind of health risks, and there is a need for them to have health covers.
Notably, the negative attitudes directed towards the lesbians make them avoid seeking the healthcare services. To offer competent and sensitive care to this subgroup, I would engage in counseling sessions whereby I would strongly advise the lesbians to feel free to share the sexual orientation. The counseling sessions will play a significant role in building up their courage. I would also encourage Betty to go for cancer screening tests regularly.
The major concerns facing Betty entail her sexual orientation and her lack of a health insurance coverage. The community health nurses attending to Betty should be equipped with appropriate training that enhances their ability to address the health issues of lesbian patients without making them feel embarrassed. Doing this will encourage the lesbians to come out without fear of embarrassment to seek medical services.
ReferencesRoberts, S. J. (2006). Health Care Recommendations for Lesbian Women. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing.
Tracy, J. K., & Junginger, J. (2007). Correlates of Lesbian Sexual Functioning. Journal of Women’s Health.