LGBTQ+ Community is More Likely to Avoid Routine Healthcare Due to Distrust and Systemic Bias

July 7, 2022

A recent study by Phreesia Life Sciences and Klick Health identify a stark gap in routine medical care in the LGBTQ+ community. Around 45% of LGBTQ+ patients interviewed at in-person clinic visits thought that pharma truly understands their needs and those of the community, a number that dropped to 30% in trans men and women. Over half of patients said that pharma’s outreach to the community was subpar outside of HIV and pre-exposure prophylactics (PrEP). 54% of patients didn’t know which cancer screenings to schedule, with 45% saying their doctor never brought up cancer screenings.

According to Amy Gómez, Klick Health SVP of diversity strategy, “I don’t believe the LGBTQ+ preventive care gaps mirror those of the general US population – they instead mirror the unconscious biases of a medical community that has done an excellent job of making the LGBTQ+ community aware of a short list of conditions they believe these patients are at greater risk of (HIV, STDs, and anxiety/depression) and, unfortunately, a much less effective job of raising awareness of preventive screenings for conditions they may be just as likely — or more likely — to experience, such as diabetes, hypertension and certain cancers.”

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