Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Veterans' Experiences of Discrimination in Health Care and Their Relation to Health Outcomes: A Pilot Study Examining the Moderating Role of Provider Communication
Purpose: 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 delete...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Mary Ann Liebert
2019-09-01
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| Series: | Health Equity |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/HEQ.2019.0069 |
| _version_ | 1797361398552985600 |
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| author | Mollie A. Ruben Nicholas A. Livingston Danielle S. Berke Alexis R. Matza Jillian C. Shipherd |
| author_facet | Mollie A. Ruben Nicholas A. Livingston Danielle S. Berke Alexis R. Matza Jillian C. Shipherd |
| author_sort | Mollie A. Ruben |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose: 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.
Methods: 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.
Results: 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.
Conclusion: 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:53:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e2418209d71247238554e7aae731ac88 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2473-1242 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:53:08Z |
| publishDate | 2019-09-01 |
| publisher | Mary Ann Liebert |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health Equity |
| spelling | doaj.art-e2418209d71247238554e7aae731ac882024-01-09T04:15:03ZengMary Ann LiebertHealth Equity2473-12422019-09-013148048810.1089/HEQ.2019.0069Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Veterans' Experiences of Discrimination in Health Care and Their Relation to Health Outcomes: A Pilot Study Examining the Moderating Role of Provider CommunicationMollie A. RubenNicholas A. LivingstonDanielle S. BerkeAlexis R. MatzaJillian C. ShipherdPurpose: 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. Methods: 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. Results: 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. Conclusion: 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.https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/HEQ.2019.0069LGBTveterandiscriminationhealth carepatient–provider communicationsexual and gender minorities |
| spellingShingle | Mollie A. Ruben Nicholas A. Livingston Danielle S. Berke Alexis R. Matza Jillian C. Shipherd Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Veterans' Experiences of Discrimination in Health Care and Their Relation to Health Outcomes: A Pilot Study Examining the Moderating Role of Provider Communication Health Equity LGBT veteran discrimination health care patient–provider communication sexual and gender minorities |
| title | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Veterans' Experiences of Discrimination in Health Care and Their Relation to Health Outcomes: A Pilot Study Examining the Moderating Role of Provider Communication |
| title_full | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Veterans' Experiences of Discrimination in Health Care and Their Relation to Health Outcomes: A Pilot Study Examining the Moderating Role of Provider Communication |
| title_fullStr | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Veterans' Experiences of Discrimination in Health Care and Their Relation to Health Outcomes: A Pilot Study Examining the Moderating Role of Provider Communication |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Veterans' Experiences of Discrimination in Health Care and Their Relation to Health Outcomes: A Pilot Study Examining the Moderating Role of Provider Communication |
| title_short | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Veterans' Experiences of Discrimination in Health Care and Their Relation to Health Outcomes: A Pilot Study Examining the Moderating Role of Provider Communication |
| title_sort | lesbian gay bisexual and transgender veterans experiences of discrimination in health care and their relation to health outcomes a pilot study examining the moderating role of provider communication |
| topic | LGBT veteran discrimination health care patient–provider communication sexual and gender minorities |
| url | https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/HEQ.2019.0069 |
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