Other Titles
Lessons from a Scoping Literature Review: How LGBTQ+ People Experience Institutions of Health [Title Slide]
Other Titles
Rising Star Poster/Presentation - Rapid Presentation Round
Abstract
Those that identify as a sexual and gender minority, that is, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or any other appropriate term (LGBTQ+), experience life, health, and healthcare that is rich in multiplicity. As nurses and health professionals, the narratives of our patients are indeed paramount. Whether it’s the political marginalization of gay people, the increase in U.S. domestic hate crimes, or the fragility and minority stress in which sexual minority men in Tajikistan receive healthcare, our call to understand this population remains consistent.1-5 This call was explored by the primary author in a scoping literature review that was conducted with the conceptual assistance of a health science librarian, as well as PhD program advisors. Ultimately, the goal of this presentation is to summarize the process and results of that scoping literature review, which inquired to the healthcare experiences of LGBTQ+ people over the past five years. Interestingly, at the time of this literature search (and to the best of this writer’s knowledge), only one prior review was found that explored the LGBTQ+ healthcare experience up to 2015.6 Thus, in an attempt to capture literature from 2018 onward, both OVID Medline and CINAHL Ultimate were reviewed. Less than 70 articles were found after searching both OVID Medline (exp *Sexual and Gender Minorities/ AND exp *Patient Satisfaction) and CINAHL Ultimate (sexual and gender minorities AND patient satisfaction) in early Fall of 2023. To meet a target goal of ten articles (in line with the miniature scoping method of the review), findings were adjudicated for inclusion against the following guidelines: adult population, patient focused, English text, dated 2018 onward, non-review, and non-opinion.7,8 Six qualitative and three quantitative works were subjectively and critically determined for final inclusion.9-17 A tenth article was initially included but was excluded after full-text review.18 There continues to be a geographic paucity in understanding the LGBTQ+ healthcare experience, limiting our understanding as to how LGBTQ+ people in places other than the sampled geographies experience healthcare. That is, more understanding is needed outside of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Finland, Australia, and China. Additionally, the experiences of LGBTQ+ people around the world remain dynamic and ever contrastable. Major themes, grounded in the included articles of the review and relative to the LGBTQ+ experience of healthcare, include marginalization, convergent fear, and repeated desires for inclusivity. Finally, articles were analyzed against objective guidelines.19-21 While there are a few limitations in the review summarized here, the overall message it bears remains one of practical importance. That is, nurses must continue to be called in their alleviation of fear and promotion of empathy for all.
Notes
Please Note: I have twenty one references total that align with my abstract (as this is a summary presentation of a literature review that I completed as a part of my PhD program). As I'm only able to include 10 here, I've included the 10 most important to the abstract (No. 4, 9-17). However, I can provide all 21 upon request. Ibragimov U, Wong FU. Qualitative examination of enacted stigma towards gay and bisexual men and related health outcomes in Tajikistan, central Asia. Glob Public Health. 2018;13(5):597-611.
Boulé J, Wilson K, Kortes-Miller K, Stinchcombe A. “We live in a wonderful country, Canada, but...”: perspectives from older LGBTQ Ontarians on visibility, connection, and power in care and community. Int J Aging Hum Dev. 2020;91(3):235-52.
Fu R, Kutner BA, Wu Y, Xie L, Meng S, Hou J, Gu Y, Xu H, Zheng H, He N, Meyers K. Do gay and bisexual men who conceal their same-sex behavior prefer different kinds of health services?: findings across four cities to inform client-centered HIV prevention in China. BMC Public Health. 2020;20(4):[10 p.].
Grant R, Nash M. Young bisexual women’s sexual health care experiences in Australian rural general practice. Aust J Rural Health. 2019;27(3):224-8.
Hoyt MA, Frost DM, Cohn E, Millar BM, Diefenbach MA, Revenson TA. Gay men’s experiences with prostate cancer: implications for future research. J Health Psychology. 2020;25(3):298-310.
Hsieh N, Mirzoyan I. Disparities in experience with culturally competent care and satisfaction with care by sexual orientation. LGBT Health. 2021;8(3):222-30.
Martos AJ, Wilson PA, Gordon AR, Lightfoot M, Meyer IH. “Like finding a unicorn”: healthcare preferences among lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in the United States. Soc Sci Med. 2018;208:126-33.
Morris DDA, Fernandes V, Rimes RA. Sexual minority service user perspectives on mental health treatment barriers to care and service user improvements. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2022;34(3-4):230-9.
Soinio JII, Paavilainen E, Kylmä JPO. Lesbian and bisexual women’s experiences of healthcare: “do not say, ‘husband’, say ‘spouse’”. J Clin Nurs. 2020;29(1-2):94-106.
Suen Y, Chan RCH. A nationwide cross-sectional study of 15,611 lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in China: disclosure of sexual orientation and experiences of negative treatment in health care. Int J Equity Health. 2020;19(46):[12 p.].
Sigma Membership
Zeta
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
LGBTQ+ Persons, Health Inequities, Health Services Accessibility, Health Care Delivery
Recommended Citation
Theesfeld, Samuel S. N. and Schorr, Erica, "Lessons from a Scoping, Librarian-Assisted Literature Review: How LGBTQ+ People Experience Institutions of Health" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 40.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2024/presentations_2024/40
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2024
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-02-17
Lessons from a Scoping, Librarian-Assisted Literature Review: How LGBTQ+ People Experience Institutions of Health
Washington, DC, USA
Those that identify as a sexual and gender minority, that is, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or any other appropriate term (LGBTQ+), experience life, health, and healthcare that is rich in multiplicity. As nurses and health professionals, the narratives of our patients are indeed paramount. Whether it’s the political marginalization of gay people, the increase in U.S. domestic hate crimes, or the fragility and minority stress in which sexual minority men in Tajikistan receive healthcare, our call to understand this population remains consistent.1-5 This call was explored by the primary author in a scoping literature review that was conducted with the conceptual assistance of a health science librarian, as well as PhD program advisors. Ultimately, the goal of this presentation is to summarize the process and results of that scoping literature review, which inquired to the healthcare experiences of LGBTQ+ people over the past five years. Interestingly, at the time of this literature search (and to the best of this writer’s knowledge), only one prior review was found that explored the LGBTQ+ healthcare experience up to 2015.6 Thus, in an attempt to capture literature from 2018 onward, both OVID Medline and CINAHL Ultimate were reviewed. Less than 70 articles were found after searching both OVID Medline (exp *Sexual and Gender Minorities/ AND exp *Patient Satisfaction) and CINAHL Ultimate (sexual and gender minorities AND patient satisfaction) in early Fall of 2023. To meet a target goal of ten articles (in line with the miniature scoping method of the review), findings were adjudicated for inclusion against the following guidelines: adult population, patient focused, English text, dated 2018 onward, non-review, and non-opinion.7,8 Six qualitative and three quantitative works were subjectively and critically determined for final inclusion.9-17 A tenth article was initially included but was excluded after full-text review.18 There continues to be a geographic paucity in understanding the LGBTQ+ healthcare experience, limiting our understanding as to how LGBTQ+ people in places other than the sampled geographies experience healthcare. That is, more understanding is needed outside of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Finland, Australia, and China. Additionally, the experiences of LGBTQ+ people around the world remain dynamic and ever contrastable. Major themes, grounded in the included articles of the review and relative to the LGBTQ+ experience of healthcare, include marginalization, convergent fear, and repeated desires for inclusivity. Finally, articles were analyzed against objective guidelines.19-21 While there are a few limitations in the review summarized here, the overall message it bears remains one of practical importance. That is, nurses must continue to be called in their alleviation of fear and promotion of empathy for all.
Description
This session will summarize a scoping review paper written by the primary author under the guidance of a health science librarian and advisors in his PhD curriculum. Participants will increase their understanding as to how LGBTQ+ people have experienced international healthcare over the past five years.