Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2024 Apr 3;81(8):297-305. doi: 10.1093/ajhp/zxad330.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affected all social systems, but healthcare services were particularly disrupted. The pandemic also had a disproportionate impact on populations made socially vulnerable. In this study, we documented the experiences of Latinx sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals with access to care during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders.
Semistructured qualitative interviews assessing experiences during the stay-at-home orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and patients' experiences accessing healthcare during this period were conducted with 21 Latinx SGM individuals from the Washington, DC, area. Data were analyzed using rapid qualitative analysis (RQA), and salient themes were identified.
The RQA revealed 3 themes reflecting participants' experiences with pharmaceutical care during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders: (1) challenges in accessing HIV services; (2) community engagement; and (3) providers supporting access to care. Participants experienced problems with adherence to medication, transportation, and technology, as well as delays in care and miscommunication with providers. Latinx SGM individuals demonstrated engagement in response to this emergency as a community and valued their providers and their efforts to facilitate access to care.
The COVID-19 pandemic strained healthcare services. Findings from this study show that the impact of the pandemic on the provision of care increased the vulnerability of Latinx SGM people. Future research should explore the impact of public health emergencies on the health of populations historically made socially vulnerable, and innovative solutions should be identified to eliminate these barriers to health equity.
2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行影响了所有社会系统，但医疗保健服务受到的干扰尤其严重。大流行对社会弱势群体的人口也产生了不成比例的影响。在这项研究中，我们记录了拉丁裔性少数群体和跨性别者（SGM）在 COVID-19 居家令期间获得医疗保健的经历。
我们对 21 名来自华盛顿特区地区的拉丁裔 SGM 个体进行了半结构化定性访谈，评估了 COVID-19 居家令期间的经历以及在此期间患者获得医疗保健的经历。使用快速定性分析（RQA）分析数据，并确定了突出的主题。
RQA 揭示了反映参与者在 COVID-19 居家令期间接受药物治疗的 3 个主题：（1）获得 HIV 服务的挑战；（2）社区参与；（3）提供者支持获得医疗保健。参与者在药物治疗、交通和技术方面遇到了依从性、延迟治疗和与提供者沟通不畅等问题。拉丁裔 SGM 个人表现出了作为社区的参与应对这种紧急情况的意识，并重视他们的提供者及其为促进获得医疗保健所做的努力。
COVID-19 大流行给医疗保健服务带来了压力。这项研究的结果表明，大流行对医疗服务的影响增加了拉丁裔 SGM 人群的脆弱性。未来的研究应该探讨公共卫生紧急情况对历史上社会弱势群体健康的影响，并确定消除这些健康公平障碍的创新解决方案。
