Skip to main content

Main menu

  • HOME
  • ONLINE FIRST
  • CURRENT ISSUE
  • ALL ISSUES
  • AUTHORS & REVIEWERS
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • RESOURCES
    • About BJGP
    • Conference
    • Advertising
    • BJGP Blog
    • eLetters
    • Feedback
    • Librarian information
    • Alerts
    • Resilience
  • RCGP
    • BJGP for RCGP members
    • BJGP Open
    • RCGP eLearning
    • InnovAIT Journal
    • Jobs and careers
    • RCGP e-Portfolio

User menu

  • Subscriptions
  • Alerts
  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
British Journal of General Practice
  • RCGP
    • BJGP for RCGP members
    • BJGP Open
    • RCGP eLearning
    • InnovAIT Journal
    • Jobs and careers
    • RCGP e-Portfolio
  • Subscriptions
  • Alerts
  • Log in
  • Follow bjgp on Twitter
  • Visit bjgp on Facebook
  • Blog
British Journal of General Practice

Advanced Search

  • HOME
  • ONLINE FIRST
  • CURRENT ISSUE
  • ALL ISSUES
  • AUTHORS & REVIEWERS
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • RESOURCES
    • About BJGP
    • Conference
    • Advertising
    • BJGP Blog
    • eLetters
    • Feedback
    • Librarian information
    • Alerts
    • Resilience
Research

Sexual orientation disclosure in health care: a systematic review

Hannah Brooks, Carrie D Llewellyn, Tom Nadarzynski, Fernando Castilho Pelloso, Felipe De Souza Guilherme, Alex Pollard and Christina J Jones
Br J Gen Pract 29 January 2018; bjgp18X694841. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp18X694841
Hannah Brooks
Department of Primary Care and Public Health;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Carrie D Llewellyn
Department of Primary Care and Public Health;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Tom Nadarzynski
Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Fernando Castilho Pelloso
Curso de Medicina da Universidade Federal do Parana, Curitiba, Parana, Brazil.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Felipe De Souza Guilherme
Curso de Medicina da Universidade Federal do Parana, Curitiba, Parana, Brazil.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Alex Pollard
Department of Primary Care and Public Health;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Christina J Jones
Department of Clinical Medicine, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info
  • eLetters
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Background Significant health disparities between sexual minority individuals (that is, lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender [LGBT]) and heterosexual individuals have been demonstrated.

Aim To understand the barriers and facilitators to sexual orientation (SO) disclosure experienced by LGBT adults in healthcare settings.

Design and setting Mixed methods systematic review, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods papers following PRISMA guidelines.

Method Study quality was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) and a qualitative synthesis was performed. Studies were included if their participants were aged ≥18 years who either identified as LGBT, had a same-sex sexual relationship, or were attracted to a member of the same sex.

Results The review included 31 studies representing 2442 participants. Four overarching themes were identified as barriers or facilitators to SO disclosure: the moment of disclosure, the expected outcome of disclosure, the healthcare professional, and the environment or setting of disclosure. The most prominent themes were the perceived relevance of SO to care, the communication skills and language used by healthcare professionals, and the fear of poor treatment or reaction to disclosure.

Conclusion The facilitators and barriers to SO disclosure by LGBT individuals are widespread but most were modifiable and could therefore be targeted to improve healthcare professionals’ awareness of their patients’ SO. Healthcare professionals should be aware of the broad range of factors that influence SO disclosure and the potential disadvantageous effects of non-disclosure on care. The environment in which patients are seen should be welcoming of different SOs as well as ensuring that healthcare professionals’ communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal, are accepting and inclusive.

  • disclosure
  • general practice
  • LGBT
  • review
  • sexual orientation
  • Received May 19, 2017.
  • Revision requested June 6, 2017.
  • Accepted July 10, 2017.
  • © British Journal of General Practice 2018
View Full Text

  RCGP login

Members, please Login at RCGP to access the journal online.

  Subscriber login

Enter your BJGP login information below.

Log in using your username and password

Enter your British Journal of General Practice username.
Enter the password that accompanies your username.
Forgot your user name or password?

Log in through your institution

You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your library if you do not have a username and password.
If your organization uses OpenAthens, you can log in using your OpenAthens username and password. To check if your institution is supported, please see this list. Contact your library for more details.

Pay Per Article - You may access this article (from the computer you are currently using) for 1 day for US$35.00

Regain Access - You can regain access to a recent Pay per Article purchase if your access period has not yet expired.

  Subscribe

Subscribe to the Journal - Subscribe to the print and/or online journal.

Back to top
Next Article

Online First

Download PDF
Download PowerPoint
Article Alerts
Or,
sign in or create an account with your email address
Email Article

Thank you for recommending British Journal of General Practice.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person to whom you are recommending the page knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Sexual orientation disclosure in health care: a systematic review
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from British Journal of General Practice
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from British Journal of General Practice.
Citation Tools
Sexual orientation disclosure in health care: a systematic review
Hannah Brooks, Carrie D Llewellyn, Tom Nadarzynski, Fernando Castilho Pelloso, Felipe De Souza Guilherme, Alex Pollard, Christina J Jones
Br J Gen Pract 29 January 2018; bjgp18X694841. DOI: 10.3399/bjgp18X694841

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero

Share
Sexual orientation disclosure in health care: a systematic review
Hannah Brooks, Carrie D Llewellyn, Tom Nadarzynski, Fernando Castilho Pelloso, Felipe De Souza Guilherme, Alex Pollard, Christina J Jones
Br J Gen Pract 29 January 2018; bjgp18X694841. DOI: 10.3399/bjgp18X694841
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
  • Mendeley logo Mendeley

Jump to section

  • Top
  • Article
    • Abstract
    • INTRODUCTION
    • METHOD
    • RESULTS
    • DISCUSSION
    • Notes
    • REFERENCES
  • Figures & Data
  • Info
  • eLetters
  • PDF

Keywords

  • disclosure
  • general practice
  • LGBT
  • review
  • sexual orientation

More in this TOC Section

  • Weight loss as a predictor of cancer in primary care: a systematic review and meta-analysis
  • Abdominal symptoms and cancer in the abdomen: prospective cohort study in European primary care
  • Development of a prediction tool for patients presenting with acute cough in primary care: a prognostic study spanning six European countries
Show more Research

Related Articles

Cited By...

 

BJGP Open

 

@BJGPjournal's Likes on Twitter

 
 

British Journal of General Practice

NAVIGATE

  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • All Issues
  • Online First
  • Authors & reviewers

RCGP

  • BJGP for RCGP members
  • BJGP Open
  • RCGP eLearning
  • InnovAiT Journal
  • Jobs and careers
  • RCGP e-Portfolio

MY ACCOUNT

  • RCGP members' login
  • Subscriber login
  • Activate subscription
  • Terms and conditions

NEWS AND UPDATES

  • About BJGP
  • Alerts
  • RSS feeds
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

AUTHORS & REVIEWERS

  • Submit an article
  • Writing for BJGP: research
  • Writing for BJGP: other sections
  • BJGP editorial process & policies
  • BJGP ethical guidelines
  • Peer review for BJGP

CUSTOMER SERVICES

  • Advertising
  • Contact subscription agent
  • Copyright
  • Librarian information

CONTRIBUTE

  • BJGP Blog
  • eLetters
  • Feedback

CONTACT US

BJGP Journal Office
RCGP
30 Euston Square
London NW1 2FB
Tel: +44(0) 20 3188 7400
Email: journal@rcgp.org.uk

British Journal of General Practice is an editorially-independent publication of the Royal College of General Practitioners
© 2018 British Journal of General Practice

Print ISSN: 0960-1643
Online ISSN: 1478-5242