Check the Box that Best Describes You: LGBT Health and Identity Issues Related to Medical Intake Forms

• In Event: Scholar to Scholar I
  In Paper Session: Confronting Heteronormative Discourse: Perspectives on GLTB identity struggles

Abstract

LGBT persons struggle with identity and disclosure on a daily basis and due to lack of education and awareness, “the format of medical intake and history are often insensitive to the experience of LGBT patients, and [are] likely to discourage disclosure of sexual orientation and behavior.” For example, “physicians and researchers routinely ask heterosexually biased questions, such as, ‘Are you married, single, widowed or divorced?’ or ‘What kind of birth control do you use?’” Despite state efforts, such as a 2001 Massachusetts effort to develop more inclusive LGBT intake forms, there is little research examining LGBT-exclusionary language in medical intake formats or the implications. To this end, a qualitative content analysis of medical intake forms will be conducted to assess differences in format. Additionally, the potential health implications for LGBT individuals, the ramifications for queer theory, and the consequences for queer identity struggles will be addressed.

Authors

• Danee Renee Pye, University of Texas, Austin

• Elizabeth Goins, University of Texas, Austin