Abstract
Objective: The mental health needs of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community have been often overlooked in health research, and it is essential need to understand the experiences of this community when accessing mental health care, as it is known they are often exposed to a combination of stigma and discrimination because of their sexual or gender identity. Although publications have identified specific health needs for the cohorts within the community, they do not address the health disparities experienced by gender and sexual minorities. The objective of this integrative literature review is to identify the needs and experiences of the LGBT community when accessing mental health services.
Methodology: An integrative literature review was conducted using Whittlemore and Knafl's (2005) framework to review the contemporary literature surrounding the LGBT community's mental health needs and their experiences when accessing these needs. A total of 13 articles were selected for the integrative review which examined the qualitative data obtained by these studies. The data extraction and analysis process identified two key themes and five subthemes that are examined throughout the review.
Findings: Findings from the integrative review found that the LGBT community are exposed to unique social stressors that have a direct impact on their mental wellbeing. The findings indicated that the LGBT community have specific needs when accessing and engaging mental health services for these needs. The community is exposed to essentially a heterosexist international health system and is frequently pathologized by health professionals because of the cultural differences, in particular when engaging with mental health services. The LGBT communities are generalised as a whole community, and not as individual cohorts, which creates additional barriers for specific needs, in particular those of the transgender community.
Conclusion: The recommendations and findings of this research demonstrate the need for health care systems to review their role in improving the health disparities of this minority population, and to reduce the stigma and discrimination currently experienced by improving health policy and education development.