Health Care Workers’ Perspectives on Collecting Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the Adult Primary Care Setting

Bibliographic Data

ID9101090
AuthorsAmy Leclair (0000-0001-5333-1813, Department of Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, corresponding author), Raviv Rose (Tufts University, Bendetson Hall, Medford, MA), Rebecca Rose (0000-0002-5059-9176, Tufts University), Olivia Barker (Tufts University, Bendetson Hall, Medford, MA), Eilish Carpenter (Department of Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA), Eilish W Carpenter (Tufts Medical Center, corresponding author), Thomas W Concannon (0000-0002-6082-3055, The RAND Corporation, Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Boston, MA), Ulrike Boehmer (0000-0003-0097-5927, Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA), Deborah Blazey-Martin (0000-0002-0857-2332, Division of and General Internal Medicine, UMass Memorial Medical Center, Worcester, MA), Chloe E Bird (0000-0002-2173-3516, Department of Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, corresponding author), Karen M Freund (0000-0002-9049-5574, Department of Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, corresponding author), Stephenie C Lemon (0000-0003-3321-6070, UMass Chan Medical School, Preventive & Behavioral Medicine, Worcester, MA)
Year2024
Volume62
Issue12
Pages814-819
Publication date2024-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedical Care (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0025-7079 • E-ISSN: 1537-1948
PublisherOvid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1097/mlr.0000000000002076
PMID39374178
OpenAlexW4403172916
LanguageEN
References cited22

BACKGROUND: Despite numerous calls for standardized collection of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data in clinical settings, uptake of this practice still lags. OBJECTIVES: This study conducted a preimplementation assessment of staff attitudes toward SOGI data collection within an adult primary care practice in an urban academic medical center in the northeastern United States. RESEARCH DESIGN: We created a process map of the flow of patient data from the point of registration to the clinical encounter to identify all staff roles associated with registration and patient demographic data collection. We purposively sampled staff members across these roles and conducted semistructured virtual interviews between November 2021 and February 2022. The research team used deductive and inductive coding and conducted a thematic analysis to identify barriers and facilitators to implementation. SUBJECTS: Nine clinical staff and eleven nonclinical staff were interviewed. MEASURES: Participants were asked about their general experiences with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) patients, their perspectives on collecting this data, and potential barriers and facilitators to incorporating this into the workflow. RESULTS: The main themes that emerged were the relevance of SOGI data to the clinical practice; concerns about patient acceptability; the prevalence of cis-gender, heteronormative assumptions; and concerns about linguistic, cultural, and generational differences. Differences were noted between clinical and nonclinical staff. CONCLUSIONS: Greater education is needed to help both clinical and nonclinical staff understand how patients' SOGI demographics can be used to provide affirming, patient-centered care. Implementation strategies can be tailored to address specific barriers at the individual, organizational, and social levels

Data collection · Family medicine · Health care · Lesbian · Medical education · Qualitative research · Queer · Sexual orientation · Thematic analysis · Transgender · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Sex and Gender in Healthcare · Sexual function and dysfunction studies · Social Psychology