Sexual and gender minority health vulnerabilities during the COVID‐19 health crisis

Abstract

Coronavirus 19 (COVID-19), the infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is both transforming and ending lives. In only 7 months (December 2019-July 2020), at least 11 million people have contracted the virus and over 500 000 have died (WHO, 2020). Though its impact is wide, COVID-19's illness and death tolls are felt most acutely by communities experiencing multiple and inter

Low Psychological Well-Being in Men Who Have Sex With Men (Msm) During the Shelter-in-Place Orders to Prevent the Covid-19 Spread: Results From a Nationwide Study

“…These individuals may even become involved in practices in which they expose themselves to the Coronavirus for not bearing the prolonged social distancing measures, boredom, and the lack of social interaction with people, or restricted mobility within the cities (Reis de Sousa et al, 2020). Coupled with these is the fact that difficulty in searching for affective and sexual partners during the period of social isolation may also decrease psychological well-being, impacting the health of these men (Sousa & Oliveira et al, 2020; Carvalho et al, 2020).…”

“…In this study, a greater prevalence of low psychological well-being was found among MSM who did not report the use of social media to find partners, revealing that even though the social media is considered to be associated with sex, in times of social distancing, it may play a protective role by enabling social interactions, even if remotely. The results from a multi-center study show that 95% of its MSM sample was (totally or partially) complying with social distancing measures, which resulted in a drop in the number of partners and relationships, but, at the same time, increased online interactions (Sousa & Oliveira et al, 2020). The study also reports that MSM devised strategies to keep interactions during the social distancing measures, reinforcing this study’s findings that interactions, whether to seek or exchange content, are essential for MSM’s psychological well-being.…”

“…A large number of people infected and dead directly impacts the health systems’ capacity, also challenging the countries’ economy and the populations in general (Araújo, Oliveira & Freitas, 2020). Continuous and prolonged quarantine causes a strain on people’s mental health, as it restricts access to essential goods, such as food, medicines, and transportation, among others (Oliveira et al, 2020). Such a context affects the individuals’ psychological well-being, significantly decreasing quality of life (Serafini et al, 2020).…”

“…The pandemic’s harmful impact, heightened by social isolation, on the individuals’ physical, mental, social, and environmental spheres, is quite noticeable (Forte, Favieri, Tambelli & Casagrande, 2020). In this context, sexual and gender minorities are subject to greater vulnerability, given the historically conditioning inequality they face in terms of health and violence (Gibb et al, 2020). That is, these groups are relegated to a marginal position within the society, and, as a consequence, a safety net system and psychosocial support are not always provided or available to them.…”

Biocultural approaches to transgender and gender diverse experience and health: Integrating biomarkers and advancing gender/sex research

“…Given the complexity of addressing these issues of measurement and inclusivity, transdisciplinary collaborations can enable the most comprehensive use of current and future sexual orientation and gender identity measures. Inclusion of these measures would facilitate researchers' capacity to effectively disentangle intersectional factors impacting health and development across the life span beyond WEIRD populations (Bauer & Scheim, 2019a; Gibb et al, 2020).…”