Taking on a Mammoth Task

As announced in a recent edition by Dr. Julee Waldrop, editor of The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, the column formerly known as Quality Health Care for Women is taking on a broader examination of sexual and gender identity–associated health concerns. The new title of the column, Current Topics in Gender Health, signals a desire on the part of the editors and editorial board for The Journal for Nurse Practitioners to illuminate the issues affecting the health of all persons experiencing barriers to health care, including ciswomen, cismen (cis is a prefix for people whose gender identity generally matches the gender assigned at birth for their physical sex), and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual, and more (LGBTQIA+). Ciswomen are much more likely to participate in health promotion and disease prevention than cismen. A greater proportion of ciswomen seek care when they detect a change in their health status. Part of that behavior is attributed to the norm that has been established for prenatal care. The tendency of cismen to avoid seeking preventive and restorative health care is a major contributor to the higher incidence among men of many preventable, curable, or manageable mental and physical health problems. Persons who identify as LGBTQIA+ make up a significant part of the global population, yet recognition of their presence is comparatively recent, and there is still a high degree of discrimination and stigma. As a result, their unique biopsychosocial needs have only recently begun to be explored. Also, the lack of acceptance, lack of knowledge among clinicians, and outright hostility are identified by persons who are LGBTQIA+ as primary reasons that they avoid the health care system.