Breaking Barriers and Fostering Trust: Insights into LGBTQ+ Experiences in Healthcare

Healthcare is meant to be inclusive, but as many LGBTQ+¹ patients know, that’s not always the case. Negative experiences with medical gaslighting, discrimination, and trauma make it difficult for LGBTQ+ people to seek the care they need and have productive conversations with their doctors. According to a joint research study by Healthgrades and OutCare Health, the nation’s most comprehensive resource for LGBTQ+ health equity, LGBTQ+ people were twice as likely to have experienced some form of medical gaslighting compared to cisgender, heterosexual people.² And in the past 12 months, LGBTQ+ people were also 2x more likely to skip an appointment because of a prior negative experience.²

So what can hospital and pharma marketers do to engage with LGBTQ+ patients and steer them towards affirming care that could change their lives? Download our special report to get the latest on LGBTQ+ patient perspectives, current inclusivity gaps, and opportunities to expand affirming care. With insights from our research, we explore:

• Reasons LGBTQ+ people neglect or delay annual health appointments
• Areas where doctor-patient relationships could improve
• LGBTQ+ patient experiences that can lead to care avoidance
• Levels of patient trust in doctors and medical institutions
• Ways marketers can support efforts for more inclusive care

¹ People who identify as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and all sexual and gender minorities
² Healthgrades LGBTQ+ Study, May 2023 N= 952 LGBTQ+ identifying US adults; N= 1049 cisgender and heterosexual identifying US adults