{"id":9997,"date":"2019-03-15T08:24:48","date_gmt":"2019-03-15T08:24:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aidsconcern.org.hk\/?page_id=9997"},"modified":"2025-04-23T16:55:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T08:55:43","slug":"dr-rainbow-scheme","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/aidsconcern.org.hk\/en\/policy-research\/dr-rainbow-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Rainbow Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” equal_height=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1517042134119{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 80px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}” min_height=”600″][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”12393″ alignment=”right”][vc_empty_space][vc_tta_tabs style=”engage_boxed” shape=”square” alignment=”center” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section title=”What is Dr. Rainbow?” tab_id=”1516819540166-48f81bda-52172400-d94e”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1720666887910{padding-bottom: 40px !important;}”]Due to the lack of legal protection and social stigma towards sexual minorities in Hong Kong, many gay people choose to hide their sexual orientation when they seek medical assistance. Often they are unsure whether their disclosure would bring them substandard care or discrimination. This is a problem because disclosure of sexual orientation can be crucial for the diagnosis of some illnesses, like STDs (sexually-transmitted diseases) and mental health challenges associated with sexual identity and discrimination, and gay people\u2019<\/span>s reluctance to disclose in front of healthcare professionals might affect the accurate medical diagnosis and treatment. Sadly, AIDS Concern hears that some gay people choose not to seek medical help in fear of stigmatization and let their health conditions deteriorate.<\/p>\n

According to AIDS Concern\u2019<\/span>s frontline experience and research, 9% of gay men would not seek medical services related to sexual health for fear of disclosing their sexual orientation. 20% of them do not seek medical assistance for fear of disclosing their sexuality.\u00a055% of the gay men would hide their sexual orientation and avoid talking about their homosexual practices when they seek the above medical services. We believe that stigma associated with the gay identity is a major barrier to effective HIV prevention and treatment as an unfriendly social environment deters people from seeking medical assistance.<\/p>\n

To improve the physical health of sexual minorities, AIDS Concern is now launching a \u2018<\/span>Dr. Rainbow Scheme\u2019<\/span>. We encourage doctors to join our scheme to learn more about gay people\u2019<\/span>s culture and healthcare concerns. We are educating doctors about skills for gay friendly consultation by inviting them to attend our \u2018<\/span>Gay-friendly Healthcare Training Workshop\u2019<\/span> or \u2018<\/span>Gay-friendly Healthcare Webinar\u2019<\/span> to have more effective and sensitive communication with their gay patients.<\/p>\n

Moreover, to reduce gay people\u2019<\/span>s fear of stigmatization and improve their access to healthcare, AIDS Concern will also promote the scheme in the community through different channels on the internet and large gay events. The promotional materials will not display the name or service information of the doctors who have participated in the scheme but the doctors\u2019<\/span> names and specialty will be displayed in the AIDS Concern website. If you would like to know more about our scheme or tips on gay-friendly practices, please refer to the LGBT-friendly doctor handbook<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0for more details.<\/p>\n

AIDS Concern hopes that doctors\u2019<\/span> commitment to gay-friendly medical services will contribute to the health of the local gay community. Should you have any enquiries, please feel free to contact 2898 4411.[\/vc_column_text]