Sexual diversity and social stigmas in the SUS for the LGBTQIA+ community: observations from Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

This research, the result of a master’s thesis presented in 2022, sought to unravel the social representations that  accompany the population of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals,  Transvestites, Transsexuals and Transgenders, Queers,  Intersex, Asexuals and others (LGBTQIA+) in the hospital  environment. The general objective was to understand the  relationship that is established in the care of the LGBTQIA+ population in the hospital environment by SUS  professionals. To achieve the general objective, two specific objectives were categorized: to analyze the perception of  health professionals about sexual and gender diversity,  and to identify possible discriminatory actions that  generate violations of healthcare rights of the LGBTQIA+  population in the hospital environment. The  methodological procedures included semi-structured  interviews and field observation in a suburban hospital in  the city of Rio de Janeiro, RJ and, in the methodological  analysis, departed from the sociointeractionist perspective  of Erving Goffman and the theoretical-conceptual debate based on the concept of stigma by the same author. It was  concluded that the LGBTQIA+ population suffers prejudice  in the hospital environment, given the lack of training of  health professionals and social prejudice of those same  professionals.