Health Care Utilization in a Sample of Canadian Lesbian Women: Predictors of Risk and Resilience

Sherry Bergeron · Charlene Y. Senn

83 citations0/0 files storedWomen & Health

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LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy Gender and Feminist Studies HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions

Abstract

This study was designed to test an exploratory path model predicting health care utilization by lesbian women. Using structural equation modeling we examined the joint influence of internalized homophobia, feminism, comfort with health care providers (HCPs), education, and disclosure of sexual identity both in one's life and to one's HCP on health care utilization. Surveys were completed by 254 Canadian lesbian women (54% participation rate) recruited through snowball sampling and specialized media. The majority (95%) of women were White, 3% (n = 7) were women of colour, and the remaining six women did not indicate ethnicity. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 67 with a mean age of 38.85 years (SD = 9.12). In the final path model, higher education predicted greater feminism, more disclosure to HCPs, and better utilization of health services. Feminism predicted both decreased levels of internalized homophobia and increased disclosure across relationships. Being more open about one's sexual identity was related to increased disclosure to HCPs, which in turn, led to better health care utilization. Finally, the more comfortable women were with their HCP the more likely they were to seek preventive care. All paths were significant at p < .01. The path model offers insight into potential target areas for intervention with the goal of improving health care utilization in lesbian women.

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References

1989EQS : structural equations program manual 1981Social Measurement: Current Issues 2001Cancer-related risk indicators and preventive screening behaviors among lesbians and bisexual women 1998Correlates of internalized homophobia in a community sample of lesbians and gay men.2000Health Behaviors, Health Status, and Access to and Use of Health Care: A Population-Based Study of Lesbian, Bisexual, and Heterosexual Women 1999Lesbian Health 1990Women's health: Review and research agenda as we approach the 21st century.2000Receipt of preventive health care services by lesbians

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2018LGBT Cultural Competence and Interventions to Help Oncology Nurses and Other Health Care Providers 2012Sexual Orientation Disclosure to Health Care Providers Among Urban and Non-Urban Southern Lesbians 2013Sexual Identity, Identity Disclosure, and Health Care Experiences: Is There Evidence for Differential Homophobia in Primary Care Practice?2012Under What Conditions do Lesbians Disclose Their Sexual Orientation to Primary Healthcare Providers? A Review of the Literature 2015

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