Sharna Ciotti wishes she didn’t have to correct the presumption she’s in a heterosexual relationship whenever she needs healthcare, and often fears she’ll be treated differently for doing so.
When Ciotti visits the GP in Adelaide, the doctor will often ask questions such as “are you and your boyfriend using contraception?”
It leaves her “feeling as though I’m having to educate the person who is supposed to be helping me”.
Hundreds of queer people’s stories – the largest national consultation of LGBTQ+ wellbeing undertaken by any Australian government – has formed the basis of a landmark action plan to improve the healthcare LGBTQ+ people receive.
The 10-year plan, released by the federal government on Wednesday, was co-designed with the community to address inequitable health outcomes for queer people often shaped by experiences of stigma, discrimination and hostility.
One in three LGBTQ+ people rate their health as poor – more than double the general population – while three in four LGBTQ+ adults say they have been diagnosed with a mental health condition, according to government data referenced in the plan.
The plan aims to address these disparities by enhancing the accessibility, availability and safety of health care services,ensuring workforce capability across both mainstream and LGBTQ+ led services, improving research and data, and building system-wide cultural change.
Ciotti, now working as a manager for Thorne Harbour Health, said she was drawn to working in a community controlled LGBTQ+ health organisation as she had understanding of the lived experience, as well as the clinical skills, “to fill the gaps that so many of us grew up experiencing”.
The plan comes alongside a $13m grants program to scale up dedicated LGBTQ+ services, $2m for La Trobe University to collect data on which to base priority areas for action, and $500,000 to expand InterAction for Health and Human Rights’ psychosocial support service.
The assistant minister for health, Ged Kearney, said that having worked as a nurse during the early days of the HIV/Aids epidemic, “I can see how far we’ve come. But this process has also illuminated how far we have to go, and what we need to do to get there”.
“To the hundreds of you who divulged your personal experiences for this national action plan – often ones painful to relive – I want to sincerely thank you,” Kearney said.
Dr Jonathan Hallett, from Curtin University’s collaboration for evidence, research and impact in public health (Ceriph), earlier this year published a report that found ongoing barriers to LGBTQ+ people using mainstream health services and said the plan “aligns with the priorities we identified in our research on primary health care needs”.
Hallett commended the plan’s emphasis on strengthening community-led health services whose success requires sustained, long-term funding.
He said the focus on cultural change within health services was also a vital step. “We need to see a sustained commitment to education and leadership training that addresses both obvious and underlying forms of discrimination.”
