The Impact of COVID-19 on LGBTQIA plus Individuals' Technology Use to Seek Health Information and Services

Fear of discrimination and stigma has often led many LGBTQIA+ individuals to seek out health information and services online and rely on digital sources. Has the LGBTQIA+ community's heavy reliance on digital use prior to the COVID-19 pandemic lessened the impact on their experience in seeking health information and services compared to the general population? Were the already existing health disparities and inaccessibility issues exacerbated? An online survey study was conducted with 155 people who self-identified as LGBTQIA+. The goals were to investigate the technologies used by LGBTQIA+ individuals to manage their health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on how they used technology to find health information, seek health services, and interact with their providers. The challenges and barriers that LGBTQIA+ respondents experienced when accessing health information and services during the pandemicwere also identified, along with howthese challenges may be alleviated through new or improved technological and non-technological solutions. Our findings indicate an increased reliance on Internet-based health information seeking, mail order prescriptions, virtual appointments, and telehealth. Most participants were satisfiedwith the changes in format including the virtual platform used for interacting with healthcare providers. However, a substantial decrease or delay in healthcare and pharmaceutical access have been identified. We also found an increased, recurrent access to mental healthcare for coping with the pandemic. COVID-19 impacted almost every aspect of the LGBTQIA+ community's health.