Social support characteristics and testing positive for COVID-19 among Brazilian sexual and gender minorities: a cross-sectional study

• Autor(a) principal: Torres, Juliana Lustosa
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Pereira, Analaura Ribeiro, Argôlo, Isabella de Paula Ribeiro, Gonçalves, Gabriela Persio, Souza, Maria Helena do Nascimento
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Saúde (Santa Maria)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.ufsm.br/revistasaude/article/view/71415
• topic: Sexual and Gender Minorities; COVID-19 testing; Health Vulnerability; Social support; Social networking; Minorias Sexuais e de Gênero; Teste para COVID-19; Apoio Social; Rede Social; Vulnerabilidade em Saúde

Objectives: To describe social support characteristics by gender identities, identify social support characteristics associated with testing positive for COVID-19 in the Brazilian sexual and gender minorities, and test whether the association between social support characteristicsand testing positive for COVID-19 are modified by age. Methods: This cross-sectional study was based on a national survey of 976 participants conducted from August to November 2020. We used self-reported positive COVID-19 testand social support characteristicsincluded social connectedness, LGBT+ discrimination from immediate families, loneliness, and number of people living with. Covariates included sociodemographic, health-related, and COVID-19 preventive characteristics. Statistical analysis was based on Logistic Regression models. Results: We found that transgender, non-binary, and othergender identity minority’s individualslive with a lower number of people (2.3; 95% CI 2.0 – 2.6), suffer more LGBT+ discrimination from immediate families (29.8%; 95% CI 20.3; 40.7%), and have higher mean loneliness scores (6.2; 95% CI 5.9 – 6.6). Testing positive for COVID-19 was positively associated with the number of people living in the household (Odds ratio [OR] = 1.29; 95% CI 1.02-1.63). Additionally, older individuals who suffer LGBT+ discrimination from the immediate families were also more prone to testing positive for COVID-19 (p=0.036).Conclusions: Brazil urges public policies to effectively control the coronavirus spread and supporting sexual and gender minority individuals.