Healthcare with dignity
Creating a welcoming practice for LGTBQ patients By Hirschel D. McGinnis, MD
O
ver the past 20 years, there has been a noticeable increase in the presence of LGBTQ+ individuals
in the workplace both as patients and colleagues.
Surveys have revealed a significant rise in the numbers of people who identify as LGBTQ+. Most notably, daily anonymous phone surveys inquiring about sexual orientation and gender identity in the United States population were conducted by Gallup between 2012–2018. These surveys demonstrated a steady increase in the rate of Americans identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender from 3.5% to 4.5%. A follow-up study in 2022 demonstrated the rate across the entire U.S. population has increased further to 7.1%.1
This extrapolates to approximately 18.6 million LGBTQ+ Americans. While the percentages may seem small, in the aggregate, the numbers are significant. Further, this only accounts for sexual orientation through the dimension of identity and does not capture the aspects of sexual orientation as expressed by attraction, behavior and relationships. There are likely many more people not identifying as LGBTQ+ who do not follow typical heteronormative models.
The presence of sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) in the medical
ACCESSING HEALTH EQUITY
workforce is largely unknown. However, data collected by the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) Medical School Graduation Questionnaire provide some important insights. Since 2016, the AAMC annual anonymous survey of graduating medical students has made an inquiry regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. Over this span, the rate of students identifying as transgender has increased from 0.3% to 1.1%. The rate of students identifying as lesbian or gay, asexual, pansexual, queer, or other has increased from 3.1% to 6.1%. The rate of students identifying as bisexual has increased from 2.1% to 5.1%.2
The 2021 survey of Year-2
medical students showed higher rates in each of these categories (transgender 1.3%; LGAPQ 8.6%; bisexual 6.5%). There are no data regarding the presence, workplace experience or contributions of LGBTQ+ radiologists in the U.S. workforce.
These numbers lead me to wonder if our specialty and practices are prepared for this cultural shift.
In one survey, 20% of transgender patients report being refused medical care, and over 50% report having to educate the healthcare providers regarding their care.3
In a 2019 article in the American Journal of Roentgenology,
irq.sirweb.org | 25
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
