Ruben Mollie A, Livingston Nicholas A, Berke Danielle S, Matza Alexis R, Shipherd Jillian C
Department of Psychology, University of Maine, Orono, Maine.
Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.
Health Equity. 2019 Sep 26;3(1):480-488. doi: 10.1089/heq.2019.0069. eCollection 2019.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) veterans report discrimination in health care, which may be associated with negative health outcomes/behaviors and has implications for LGBT identity disclosure to providers. Quality provider communication may serve to offset some of the deleterious effects of discrimination; however, no research to date has examined provider communication with respect to health among LGBT patients. Participants were 47 LGBT veterans who completed measures related to past health care experiences, experiences of discrimination in health care, perceptions of provider communication, and measures of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, and alcohol/tobacco use. The majority of LGBT veterans reported experiencing LGBT-based discrimination in health care, which was associated with higher rates of tobacco use and less comfort in disclosing their LGBT identity to providers. We also found evidence of moderation, such that high-quality provider communication appeared to buffer these associations. LGBT veterans face unique challenges with respect to receiving appropriate health care. The high frequencies of reported discrimination in health care is problematic and warrants further research and intervention. These results highlight the important role of provider communication, and the potential for quality communication to buffer against certain effects, particularly with respect to tobacco use and LGBT identity disclosure, which is an important protective factor.
女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋和跨性别(LGBT)退伍军人报告称在医疗保健方面受到歧视,这可能与负面健康结果/行为相关,并且对向医疗服务提供者披露LGBT身份有影响。高质量的医患沟通可能有助于抵消部分歧视的有害影响;然而,迄今为止尚无研究探讨医疗服务提供者与LGBT患者之间关于健康问题的沟通情况。研究参与者为47名LGBT退伍军人,他们完成了与过去医疗保健经历、医疗保健方面的歧视经历、对医患沟通的认知以及焦虑、抑郁、创伤后应激障碍症状和酒精/烟草使用情况相关的测评。大多数LGBT退伍军人报告称在医疗保健方面经历过基于LGBT身份的歧视,这与更高的烟草使用率以及向医疗服务提供者披露其LGBT身份时更低的舒适度相关。我们还发现了调节效应的证据,即高质量的医患沟通似乎可以缓冲这些关联。LGBT退伍军人在获得适当医疗保健方面面临独特挑战。报告中医疗保健方面歧视的高发生率存在问题,值得进一步研究和干预。这些结果凸显了医患沟通的重要作用,以及高质量沟通缓冲某些影响的潜力,特别是在烟草使用和LGBT身份披露方面,而身份披露是一个重要的保护因素。