An Exploration of the Health Care Experiences Encountered by Lesbian and Sexual Minority Women in Guyana

abstract

This qualitative study explored the experiences of Guyanese lesbian and other sexual minority women when encountering health care. Sixteen Guyanese, cisgender, adult women self-identifying as non-heterosexual participated in semi-structured interviews which were then thematically analyzed. Identified themes included infrequent health care usage attributable to varied influences, such as tentative sexuality disclosure, feeling vulnerable and disrespected in the health care system, absent discussions on sexual health and general female preventive care, and the pathologizing of sexual minority identities. Deficits in comprehensive health care delivery for sexual minority women will require interventions addressing barriers at the health care, societal, and governmental levels.

KEYWORDS:

• Lesbian
• sexual minority women
• health care
• Guyana
• Caribbean

Funding

We would like to acknowledge SASOD - Guyana's role in funding the travel stipend provided for participants and in reimbursing travel costs for Nastassia Rambarran and Joel Simpson.