The Relationship Between Sexual Minority Verbal Harassment and Utilization of Health Services: Results from Countywide Risk Assessment Survey (CRAS) 2004

Abstract

In this article we examine the prevalence of and associations between sexual orientation–based verbal harassment and reported utilization of health services across levels of sexual orientation in a diverse sample of adult recipients of Los Angeles County–funded HIV-related health and social services. Thirty-two percent reported they had experienced verbal harassment, the majority (80.3%) of whom identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB). Those who reported being verbally harassed received significantly more services overall than those who were not verbally harassed, and service utilization varied by sexual orientation. These findings inform future efforts to identify and assess social discrimination in health and social service settings.

KEYWORDS:

• social discrimination
• sexual minority health
• discrimination in health care settings
• verbal harassment

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Countywide Risk Assessment Survey (CRAS) was funded by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, Office of AIDS Programs and Policy, contract # PH000028. The preparation of this manuscript was supported in part by Award Number P20MD003942 from the National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities or the National Institutes of Health.

Notes

^aThe same services were repeated for those “receive from any other agency in LA County” (between D6a and D6r).

^bFour additional types of services (D5h-drug/alcohol treatment; D5n-treatment adherence counseling; D5q-child welfare services; and D5r-needle exchange) were included in the overall service composite score (i.e., sum of a total of 18 services), but the content of these items did not fit into any of the four dimensions.