INTRODUCTION                     Begin Removing Barriers

A woman walks into a clinic tentatively. Almost three months ago, her partner “felt something” on her breast, and began asking her to have it checked. Finally, she has gotten the courage to go to the doctor. She is scared that something may be wrong and that she will not be able to afford treatment. She’s also afraid that her sexual orientation may negatively impact her healthcare, so she has asked her partner not to come with her. Not only is she scared, but she is lonely. She considers canceling the appointment and going home.

Unfortunately, situations like this are not uncommon. Lesbians and women who partner with women (WPW) experience not only the same barriers to accessing health care as other women do, but also additional barriers based on sexual orientation. Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients fear bias from a health care provider based on previous personal or vicarious experiences. As a result, these patients may avoid care or leave out important medical information that can affect treatment and outcomes.

Competent healthcare delivery depends on the healthcare professional’s ability to look beyond the obvious aspects of a patient’s physical appearance and to identify cultural factors that may influence a patient’s attitudes and behaviors. This cultural awareness is especially important for lesbian patients patients who partner with women (WPW).

In the 1999 report, “Lesbian Health, Current Assessments and Directions for the Future,” the Institute of Medicine (IOM) found a shortage of evidence-based research and health information about lesbians and WPW. The existing research indentified two factors that warrant increased attention from today’s healthcare professional:

1. Lesbians and WPW have different patterns of access to health care.
2. Health care providers’attitudes are a major determinant of the quality of care lesbians and WPW receive.

Additionally, Healthy People 2010, the nation’s health “report card,” recognized people defined by sexual orientation as one of six groups of Americans who experience health disparities because of who they are.

The purpose of this educational activity is to provide healthcare professionals with specific cultural information about lesbians and WPW to help remove the barriers to healthcare for this population.