Disparities in Experience with Culturally Competent Care and Satisfaction with Care by Sexual Orientation

Purpose: Prior studies have identified health care providers' lack of cultural competency as a major barrier to care among sexual minority individuals. However, little is known about disparities in experience with culturally competent care by sexual orientation at the population level. This study assessed experiences with culturally competent care and satisfaction with care across sexual orientation groups in the United States. Methods: We analyzed nationally representative data from the 2017 National Health Interview Survey (n = 21,620) with ordinal logit regression models and compared six aspects of health care experiences across sexual orientation groups. These were: preferences for and frequencies of seeing health care providers who understand or share their culture; perceived experiences of being treated with respect by providers and providers asking about their beliefs and opinions; access to easily understood health information from providers; and satisfaction with received care. Results: Relative to heterosexual men, gay men were more likely to consider it important for providers to understand or share their culture (odds ratio [OR] = 1.4, p < 0.05) and to have providers who ask for their opinions or beliefs about care (OR = 1.5, p < 0.01). Relative to heterosexual women, bisexual- and something else-identified women were less likely to report being treated with respect (ORs = 0.4-0.6, p's < 0.01) and satisfaction with care (ORs = 0.5-0.6, p's < 0.05). No statistical differences in health care experiences were found between other sexual minority groups and their heterosexual counterparts. Conclusions: Access to culturally competent care and satisfaction with care varied by sexual orientation and gender. Clinical practices should address the unique health care barriers faced by bisexual- and something else-identified women.

Automated summary

In the United States, individuals of different sexual orientations have varying experiences with culturally competent care and satisfaction with care. Gay men prioritize providers understanding or sharing their culture, while bisexual- and something else-identified women are less likely to feel respected and satisfied with care compared to heterosexual counterparts.