Experiences of minority stress and access to primary care services among sexual minority adults in the United States

Abstract

Primary care services are cornerstones for US health care, assuring preventive screening, maintenance of therapeutics, and access to specialty care. Sexual minority (SM) adults are less likely to have access to primary care services than their heterosexual counterparts. Additionally, access to health services among SM persons can vary by age. One plausible explanation for these disparities are experiences of minority stress. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the association between experiences of minority stress and access to primary care services among SM people in the United States across multiple age cohorts. A series of logistic regressions examined associations among multiple experiences of minority stress and access to primary care services. Analyses, stratified by age cohort, examined associations between experiences of minority stress and access to primary care services. Felt stigma, on average, was negatively associated with having a primary care provider among the full sample. The stratified analysis revealed that higher rates of felt stigma were negatively associated with having a primary care provider only among younger SM adults. This study offers novel information suggesting that unique experiences of minority stress are linked with barriers in access to primary care services among SM people.