Sexual orientation a barrier to medical treatment

Disclosing sexual orientation is often a difficult part of seeking medical treatment for people who identify as LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer).

Many members of the LGBTQ community report negative experiences when coming out to their health-care provider.

Cara Collins, a second-year student at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and her research supervisor, Dr. Stacey Ritz, say small changes in medical practice can make a big difference.

Originally from North Bay, Collins is a recipient of the Dean’s Summer Medical Student Research Awards, a grant awarded to NOSM medical students to encourage interest and involvement in scholarly activity.

During her preliminary research for her project entitled “Improving LGBTQ Health Education at NOSM,” Collins found patients who feel unable to disclose their sexual orientation to their health-care provider often have poorer health outcomes.

“The support networks for people who identify as LGBTQ are often much smaller and less visible in Northern Ontario,” Collins said in a press release.

“Many members of the LGBTQ community in rural and remote areas migrate to urban areas to get the support that they need. Hopefully, we can help provide northern health-care professionals with the tools they need to provide care appropriately so LGBTQ people in the north don’t feel as isolated.”

Collins hopes her research project will contribute to curriculum development at the medical school, while providing students, residents and faculty information on ways to improve patient care.