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ABSTRACT
LGBQ+ individuals experience worse health outcomes than do other individuals. Some communication research finds that LGBQ+ individuals report receiving poor care during the mid- to post-health care, but this research assumes that LGBQ+ individuals have already received care. Little research has examined the pre- to early encounter experience of LGBQ+ individuals. This study presents exploratory research into how LGBQ+ individuals seek “queer-friendly” health care during pre- and early encounter experiences. Using an interview methodology, we report the facilitators and barriers to seeking queer-friendly care reported by LGBQ+ individuals. We offer implications for how health care providers and systems can better promote queer-friendly healthcare.
Notes
1. We use queer as an encompassing term to replace the LGBQ+ acronym. When referring to the general population, we will use the term queer. When referring to individuals, their preferred label will be used.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Nicole Hudak
Nicole Hudak (MA, James Madison University, 2014) is a doctoral student in the School of Communication Studies at Ohio University. Benjamin R. Bates (Ph.D., University of Georgia, 2003) is the Barbara Geralds Schoonover Professor of Health Communication at Ohio University.