Martos Alexander J, Fingerhut Adam, Wilson Patrick A, Meyer Ilan H
Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA.
The Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
SSM Popul Health. 2019 Oct 22;9:100505. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100505. eCollection 2019 Dec.
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people navigate issues of stigma, discrimination, structural barriers, and a history of medical mistrust when seeking healthcare services. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)-specific clinics and providers offer alternative spaces where these issues may be avoided, but limited research is available on how LGB people utilize these resources. The current study analyzes data from a nationally-representative survey of 1534 LGB people across three age cohorts. Gender, sexual identity, income, proximity to LGBT community health centers, perceived health status, and the total number of lifetime diagnoses are each associated with past utilization of LGBT-specific clinics and providers; interest in future utilization is associated with sexual identity, race/ethnicity, several psychosocial factors, income, a usual source of care, and mental distress. We conclude that LGBT-specific clinics and providers represent an important piece of the healthcare landscape for LGB people but access remains an important barrier to utilization.
女同性恋、男同性恋和双性恋（LGB）群体在寻求医疗服务时面临着耻辱感、歧视、结构性障碍以及对医疗不信任的历史遗留问题。专门针对女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋和跨性别者（LGBT）的诊所和医疗服务提供者提供了可以避免这些问题的替代场所，但关于LGB群体如何利用这些资源的研究却很有限。当前的研究分析了一项针对三个年龄组的1534名LGB群体的全国代表性调查数据。性别、性取向、收入、与LGBT社区健康中心的距离、自我感知的健康状况以及终生诊断总数均与过去对LGBT专门诊所和医疗服务提供者的利用情况相关；对未来利用的兴趣则与性取向、种族/族裔、若干心理社会因素、收入、通常的医疗服务来源以及精神困扰相关。我们得出结论，LGBT专门诊所和医疗服务提供者是LGB群体医疗体系的重要组成部分，但获取服务仍然是利用这些资源的一个重要障碍。
