The historical contexts that have shaped LGBTQ+-focused mental healthcare practices: A comparative policy analysis across Western countries.

Despite the growing acceptance of LGBTQ+ identities, healthcare remains a domain where LGBTQ+ individuals often face discrimination based on their gender or sexual identities. My PhD project seeks to improve mental healthcare provisions for LGBTQ+ communities by identifying shortcomings in current practices and drawing from optimal provisions in best-practicing countries to offer recommendations for improving training and healthcare practices in the United Kingdom.
The project I propose for this fellowship will enquire how historical views of LGBTQ+ individuals have shaped healthcare provision delivery across the West. Using comparative historical analysis (CHA), I will examine the historical contexts that have shaped LGBTQ+-focused healthcare practices across Western countries. Thus, it explores how the evolution of LGBTQ+ rights movements, medical practices, and social attitudes towards gender and sexual minorities have influenced healthcare policies, particularly regarding access, treatment, and inclusion. The Library of Congress (LoC) provides an ideal setting for this work due to its extensive historical, medical, and policy collections on LGBTQ+ issues.
Accessing these materials will allow for a comprehensive examination of the legal, social, and healthcare-related aspects of the proposed research. During this fellowship, I will produce a draft chapter of the PhD thesis and prepare a publishable manuscript. The research offers a unique contribution to both academic and healthcare sectors, providing detailed historical underpinnings of modern LGBTQ+ healthcare systems and policies and serves as a valuable resource for healthcare providers, policymakers, and advocacy groups seeking to address gaps in LGBTQ+ healthcare provision.