Challenges and Barriers to Accessibility and Affordability of Health-care among LGBTQ+ Individuals in the Indian Setting- A Mixed-Method Study

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ+) individuals in India face significant healthcare disparities despite progressive legal advancements [[i], [ii], [iii]]. Deep-rooted social stigma, discrimination, a lack of awareness among healthcare providers, and inadequate policy implementation continue to hinder their access to inclusive healthcare [3,[iv],[v]]. While broad healthcare access is a concern, the specific challenges related to the accessibility and affordability of medicines for this population remain under-explored in the Indian context [[vi][vii]].

The study’s rationale includes:

·         Persistent Discrimination: LGBTQ+ individuals frequently encounter judgment, refusal of treatment, and a lack of understanding from healthcare providers [[viii]].

·         Systemic Barriers: Healthcare systems in India often operate within a heteronormative framework [[ix],[x]].

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[viii] Sileo KM, Baldwin A, Huynh TA, Olfers A, Woo J, Greene SL, Casillas GL, Taylor BS. Assessing LGBTQ+ stigma among healthcare professionals: An application of the health stigma and discrimination framework in a qualitative, community-based participatory research study. Journal of health psychology. 2022 Aug;27(9):2181-96.

[ix] Moitra A, Marathe M, Ahmed SI, Chandra P. Negotiating intersectional non-Normative queer identities in India. InExtended Abstracts of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2021 May 8 (pp. 1-6).

[x] Raghuram H, Parakh S, Tugnawat D, Singh S, Shaikh A, Bhan A. Experiences of transgender persons in accessing routine healthcare services in India: Findings from a participatory qualitative study. PLOS Global Public Health. 2024 Feb 29;4(2):e0002933.