The presentation will provide a quick overview of the needs for access healthcare and health services among GBTQ+ by considering these needs under different themes: screening, PrEP and PEP, sexual health, psychological health, addictions, violence, etc. She will try to explain the unmet needs by highlighting access barriers for caregivers and service providers on organizational, cross-sector and systemic levels.
Data from recent research, including the Montreal-based project Mobilise!, underscore how these barriers limit the accessibility of services. The discussion will focus on how to improve approachability, acceptability, availability, accommodation, affordability and adequacy of care and services for GBTQ+. Furthermore, a tool will be proposed to help community and institutional caregivers and service providers reflect on their practices and improve access to their services for these populations.
Presented by Joanne Otis at Summit 2019: Queering Healthcare Access and Accessibility, in Vancouver October 31 - November 1. For more information visit cbrc.net/summit
Joanne Otis, Ph.D. Public Health (Health Promotion), is a Professor and Director of the Undergraduate Programs in the Department of Sexology at UQAM. Her work is focused on the promotion of sexual health and sex education as well as applying knowledge in these areas. Since 1991, her research has focused on the analysis of psychosocial and sociocultural factors associated with risk or prevention practices, particularly concerning sexually transmitted infections. These researches also include planning, implementation, cultural adaptation and evaluation of sexual health interventions by and for key populations.
Joanne is distinguished by her participatory research with communities, in partnership with LGBTQ+ and HIV community-based organizations in Quebec, Canada and internationally. In 2017, she was recognized through two awards: one for her commitment as an ally in the fight against HIV (Claude Tourangeau Award); and one for her fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ communities (Medal of the National Assembly).
