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Adolescents, young adults of all identities open to discussing sexual and gender identity with doctors

Gender-diverse and lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are far more open to having these personal conversations with health care providers than their straight and cisgender peers.

Photo by cottonbro studio from Pexels.com

Teenagers and young adults are fairly open to the idea of talking with their doctors and nurses about their sexual orientation and gender identity, and are okay being asked through various methods, whether on paper, electronically, or in person.

This is according to researchers who wrote the abstract, “Asking Adolescents and Young Adults about their Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: Lessons for Clinic Staff and EHR Documentation”, which similarly found that gender-diverse and lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are far more open to having these personal conversations with health care providers than their straight and cisgender peers.

The researchers surveyed 260 youth, ages 10 to 26, and found that nearly 70% were comfortable with being asked about their sexual orientation and gender identity during medical visits.  

“Teenagers are remarkably open to discussing their sexual orientation and gender identity through various methods when visiting their doctor’s office. This finding emphasizes the importance of creating diverse avenues for communication, whether in-person or through virtual or paper registration forms,” said Jessica Pourian, MD. “By facilitating these discussions, we can foster an inclusive healthcare environment that ultimately leads to more effective and tailored care for our young patients.”  

While 64% of all youth agreed that it is important for health care providers to ask about their gender identity, chosen name, and pronouns, gender diverse youth were far more comfortable with that conversation (83%) compared with their cisgender peers (45%).

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth were also more open to conversations about sexual orientation—56% compared to 38% of heterosexual youth. Over 96% of gender-diverse youth expressed a desire to have their chosen name and pronouns displayed in electronic health records, available to all medical staff. 

“When health care providers make assumptions about patients’ sexual orientation or gender identity, they miss opportunities for screening, risk causing distress, and can damage patient-provider relationships,” Pourian said. “This research shows that clinics should focus on integrating conversations about sexual orientation or gender identity into their practice to provide better and more comprehensive care to teenagers and young adults.” 

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