An examination of the independent and intersectional effects of racial and heterosexist medical mistrust on timing of sexual/reproductive health care visits among Black sexual minority women in the USA

Abstract

Experiences of racism and heterosexism in medical settings are social and systemic barriers to ‘on-time’ receipt of sexual and reproductive health services among women with both racial and sexual minority identities. Medical mistrust based on experiences related to these dual identities is associated with avoidance and delays in care. However, investigators are just beginning to apply an intersectional lens to quantitatively understanding such barriers. The purpose of this study was to examine the independent and interaction effects of racial and heterosexist medical mistrust on timing of sexual/reproductive health care among Black sexual minority women who have sex with women and men. A total of 320 women participated in an online study of factors affecting sexual health in this population. Ordinal logistic regression was used to assess the independent and interaction effects of racial and heterosexist medical mistrust on self-reported time since last sexual/reproductive health visit. Results indicated an interaction between the two types of medical mistrust. Research on Black women who have sex with women and men’s experiences of racism and heterosexism in the US healthcare system can lead to the development of the comprehensive training programmes needed to alleviate medical mistrust among women with racial and sexual minority identities.

Keywords:

• Black sexual minority women
• medical mistrust
• racism
• heterosexism
• intersectionality

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

To protect the privacy of participants, data for the current study cannot be made publicly available. Inquiries can be made to the corresponding author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ + Equality under the Lesbian Health Fund; and Fordham University’s Center for Ethics Education.