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Between reluctance and resistance: LGBTQ+ healthcare professionals and their experiences in the workplace
1Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
Background:
Literature shows that stigma against LGBTQ+ people in healthcare affects professionals as well as patients. Research indicates that discrimination is transversal to all healthcare professions; hierarchies and heteronormativity contribute to difficult visibility both with colleagues and with patients.
Objective:
This study aimed to explore the experiences of LGBTQ+ healthcare professionals in the workplace, analyzing their practices of (in)visibility, their experiences of discrimination and their relationships with patients.
Methods:
Data were collected through semi-structured interviews to 17 healthcare professionals working in the public healthcare sector in Portugal and identifying as LGBTQ+. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis.
Results:
Healthcare professionals report challenges in managing visibility in the workplace and the relevance of verbal abuse in interprofessional relationships. They oscillate between reluctance to assume their identity publicly and micro-practices of resistance to discrimination.
Limitations And Future Directions:
The findings of the study stress the importance of micro-practices in the definition of LGBTQ+-friendly healthcare environment and the need for further research on visibility in the healthcare workplace.
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