Suffered violence, drug consumption and risk behaviors in homosexual and bisexual individuals

Background. This study examined the prevalence of violence suffered, drug use and risk behaviors in homosexual and bisexual individuals. Method. Cross-sectional, quantitative study involving 296 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered individuals in the municipalities of Crato and Juazeiro do Norte, South of Ceará state, Brazil. Findings. Psychological/verbal abuse is the most prevalent and depressants of the central nervous system are chosen for consumption after victimization. Depressant and stimulant drugs were associated to dependence and risk behaviors in sexual minorities. Conclusion. Gay and bisexual people use drugs after suffering violence, with an association between drug use and developing risk behaviors. Further investigations inherent in these associations are necessary, since other factors may interact to violence, drug use and risk behaviors in sexual minorities. Â

Factors associated with the delay in seeking legal abortion for pregnancy resulting from rape

AbstractBackground: about 7% of rape cases in Brazil result in pregnancy. Brazilian  women generally are unaware of the right to legal interruption of pregnancy  after rape and try to end abortion in an unsafe manner or last to request the  procedure. Objective: to analyse factors associated with the time of seeking  legal abortion after rape in a public hospital. Methods: this is an observational,  analytical, and cross-sectional study. Data are from medical records of 1,270  women who complained of rape and have requested legal abortion in a public  hospital in São Paulo between 1994 and 2013. The variables age, education,  race, marital status, religion, form of intimidation, vulnerable condition,  perpetrator of sexual violence, number of perpetrators, and police report were analysed in relation to gestational age, according to multiple multinomial logistic  regression models. Results: the delay in requesting abortion at intermediate  gestational age is associated to when a woman is vulnerable (p=0.015), late  gestational age is associated with the presence of a police report (p=0.029) and 48 marital status as ngle (p=0.05). Be a relative of the aggressor is associated with  both intermediate (p=0.016) and late gestational age (p=0.002). Conclusions:  women without partners, who suffered intimidation with threats, in a vulnerable  condition, who made a police report and, above all, who were raped by relatives,  composed the group who took longer to get the health service.Keywords: sexual violence; rape; unwanted pregnancy; legal abortio

Cultural case: sexual orientation as bias in health care practices

Backgorund. The objective was to identify the perception of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people about the implications of non-heterosexual sexual orientation in health care practices. Methods. We adopted a qualitative research by conducting interviews with 30 gay and bisexual individuals recruited in the municipality of Juazeiro do Norte, Brazil, from the snowball technique in 2013. The data was categorized and analyzed based on the Theory of Diversity and Universality of Cultural Care. Findings. It was found that sexual minorities have encountered prejudiced and discriminatory professional practices in health care as a result of heteronormative cultural representations, which reflect difficulties in accessibility to the services. The exclusionary cultural care results in poor self-care and linked to sexually transmitted diseases, low attendance and distance of health services for gay and bisexual men. Conclusion. It is believed that the influence of heteronormative cultural conceptions in services imply deficit of self-care by the group