OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO HEALTHCARE ACCESS FOR HOMOAFFECTIVE MEN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

Access to healthcare is a fundamental right for all individuals, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, religion or sexual orientation. However, sexual minorities including homoaffective men often face barriers in accessing healthcare due to the negative discriminatory attitudes of healthcare professionals and the organization of healthcare services. This systematic review aimed to critically evaluate studies that examined access to healthcare by homoaffective men. An integrative review of electronic bibliographies, including CINAHL Complete, PubMed, and ERIC, was conducted to identify articles in Portuguese and English that addressed the theme of access to health services by sexual minorities in the last ten years. From the 447 articles obtained, only 17 articles were selected, which fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The results showed that the training of healthcare professionals in cultural competence and sensitivity to the specific health needs of homoaffective men is essential to improve their access to healthcare. Moreover, creating safe and friendly spaces and providing comprehensive and humanized care can reduce barriers to healthcare access. Finally, promoting positive 'gay affirmative' healthcare is a paradigm that can guide the work of healthcare professionals with the homoaffective population. In conclusion, the inclusion of homoaffective healthcare issues into academic curricula could lead to a better understanding of the unique healthcare needs of this minority group, and ultimately help to eliminate barriers to healthcare access.