Unmet Physical and Mental Healthcare Needs Among Stimulant-using Gay and Bisexual Homeless Men

Abstract

Purpose Homeless gay and bisexual (G/B) men evidence unmet physical and mental healthcare needs. To gain a greater understanding of predictors of unmet physical and mental healthcare needs, the purpose of this cross-sectional study was to understand correlates of baseline self-reported unmet physical and mental healthcare needs among stimulant-using homeless G/B men (N=422, 18-46 years of age). Methods A structured questionnaire was administered at baseline; data were collected from October 2009 to January 2013. The study was approved by the University of California Human Subjects' Protection committee and the Friends Research Institute Human Research Protection Committee. Results Logistic regression revealed that those who self-reported ever being married, being in fair or poor health and in moderate-to-very severe pain were more likely to experience unmet need for physical healthcare. Those who self-reported ever being married, being in fair or poor health and in moderate-to-very severe pain were more likely to experience unmet need for physical healthcare. In terms of unmet mental health needs, those who self-reported moderate-to-very severe pain and/or those reporting having sex while high were more likely to report unmet need for mental healthcare. In contrast, those reporting receiving social support from others were less likely to have an unmet mental healthcare need. Conclusions Research implications will be discussed as they relate to access to physical and/or mental healthcare needs among this vulnerable population.

Facilitators and Barriers to Health Seeking among People Who Use Drugs in the Sunyani Municipality of Ghana: An Exploratory Study

“…Other studies reported that drug dependence is associated with poor dental health and skin complications such as spider telangiectasias, jaundice, pruritus, hyperpigmentation, skin ulceration, and psoriasis [ 8 , 9 ]. The physical, mental, and social health needs of people who use drugs have been documented worldwide [ 6 , 8 , 10 , 11 ].…”

A mixed-methods study of social identities in mental health care among LGBTQ young adults of color.

“…Having a sense of psychological connectedness to and participation in the LGBT community has been positively associated with service use (Flores et al, 2017; Frost & Meyer, 2012) and individuals utilize LGBT community centers for counseling or support groups to manage stress related to SGM identities (Frost et al, 2016; Meyer, 2003; Toomey et al, 2018). Increased social support from friends and family has been associated with decreased service use among gay and bisexual men (Coleman et al, 2017; Salem et al, 2015) and SGM peers have been shown to provide more support for emotional distress to youth than parents and non-SGM peers (Doty et al, 2010). Religious affiliation was found to be both a source of support and a stressor.…”

Exploring Differences in the Lives and Well-Being of Sexual and Gender Minority Adults Experiencing Homelessness Relative to Their Cisgender Heterosexual Counterparts

“…In addition to a lack of understanding about the pathways to homelessness among SGM adults, the current literature tends to focus on HIV or substance use, 8,9 with little information about the ways in which the lived experiences of SGM adults experiencing homelessness may differ from their non-SGM counterparts. The sampling methods used in previous studies are similarly limited with the majority sampling homeless individuals from within SGM communities.…”