In the Doctor's Closet

An article by the Bay Area Reporter finds that while some gay youth do feel safe coming out of the closet to their friends, many of these very same youth are not yet comfortable coming out of the closet for their doctors:

An estimated 70 percent of queer youth are not out to their doctors, despite being out to almost everyone else in their lives, including to some family members, according to a study released in December by the Rand Corporation, a nonprofit research organization, and the University of California, Los Angeles. The study surveyed 179 gay, lesbian, and bisexual teens who had attended a conference.

While the data for the survey mentioned above was not collected in the most scientific manner, it currently provides our best look at how many gay youth interact with their health practitioners.

Many gay youth do not come out to their doctors because they feel they will be rejected or their doctor will inform their parents (who they may not be ready to tell, yet). Since having an honest relationship is essential to ensuring you are getting the best health care possible, more needs to be done to make sure youth feel comfortable with their doctors.

First, privacy laws need to be established that sets-up a doctor/patient confidentiality agreement for youth in their teens. Next, doctors need to be trained to work with gay youth and to understand their needs. Doctors should be sure to not assume that any youth they treat is straight.

We need to do more to make sure that our gay youth are treated in a respectful manner whenever they visit the doctor.

Check it out: Rand Report