In pursuit of change: Conceptualizing the social work response to LGBTQ microaggressions in health settings

Abstract

Despite the emergence of research on microaggressions targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) communities in recent years, there remains an insufficiency of theoretical literature in this area. In this article, we draw on the works of Michel Foucault to conceptualize the effects of microaggressive practices on LGBTQ people accessing health and other social services, and generate insight into strategies these groups use to resist these effects. We emphasize the need for social workers, particularly those in health care settings, to support these communities' ongoing attempts at challenging the effects of microaggression, and to this end, outline several implications of our analysis for social work practice.

Out of the Binary: What Trans Adults With ‘Eating Disorders’ Want From Healthcare Professionals

“…As social workers, we can work for additional funding, increased program creation, and additional communication between supports and service users. Kia, 2016) have found that service users experience numerous micro-aggressions when accessing healthcare, in addition to systemic barriers. These micro-aggressions consist of;…”

“…In response to these micro-aggressions Kia et al (2016) have made several recommendations for social workers to consider when working with LGBTQ2S+ service users.…”

Hospital social work and discharge planning for older people: challenges of working in a clinical setting

“…Advocacy is generally considered to be a core aspect of the social work identity and it takes on particular resonance in a hospital context where patients may be frail and vulnerable, may not have relatives or friends to act in their interests, or may be faced with life-changing decisions (Sexton, 2012). The importance of advocacy in hospital social work with older people has been highlighted in a number of studies (Craig and Lorenzo, 2014; Findley, 2015; Kia et al , 2016).…”

When racism, poverty, power and prestige collide in social work education and practice: a case study of a working class, Mixed-race female student studying at a prestigious White university in South Africa and employed in England as a social worker

“…In defining micaroaggression, Solorzano et al (2000) identified it as the restrained insults (verbal, non-verbal or visual) directed at people of colour, often routinely or unconsciously. Disappointedly, this issue of microaggressions is often overlooked in research, shown in only five studies on microaggression (Otuyelu et al (2016), Kia et al (2016), Caragata and Liegghio (2013), Baden (2016), and Wong and Jones (2018). Specifically, little attention was paid to microaggression among social work professionals, students and education settings (Wong & Jones, 2018); it is an under-investigated research area.…”