PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To explore the impact of two one-hour lesbian-specific educational interventions by a lesbian physician on the cancer screening behaviors of lesbians. DESIGN A pilot pre- and post-test intervention study. SETTING Two lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered senior organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area (one urban, one suburban). SAMPLE 36 participants aged 50-81 (...

BACKGROUND Lesbian women have higher rates of physical and psychiatric disorders associated with experiences of discrimination, homophobia and difficulties with coming out. Therefore, easy access to specialized healthcare in an open atmosphere is needed. We aimed to describe women's access to and experiences with healthcare in Germany, and to assess the responsibility of the general practitione...

TITLE Heteronormative communication with lesbian families in antenatal care, childbirth and postnatal care. AIM This paper is a report of a study of lesbian parents' experience of antenatal care, childbirth and postnatal care. BACKGROUND In a strictly heteronormative-based care system, 'parents' naturally implies a man and a woman, and all communication and routines are based on heterosexua...

BACKGROUND Lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations are not part of cancer surveillance, resulting in scarce information about the cancer survivorship of these populations. To address this information gap, the authors examined the prevalence of cancer survivorship by sexual orientation and cancer survivors' self-reported health by sexual orientation. METHODS The authors explored these issues by...

The present study aimed to characterize beliefs surrounding the sexual and gender development of children adopted by lesbian and gay couples. Participants were 768 Portuguese university students. Using a quasiexperimental design, participants were presented with identical descriptions of a couple interested in adopting a child, manipulating couple sexual orientation and child gender. Participan...

Donor conception challenges conventional kinship idioms: the involvement of a gamete donor culturally raises questions about parentage and also the meaning of genetic heritage. Although there is now a growing body of literature exploring how people resorting to donor conception negotiate kinship and connectedness, this predominantly focuses on heterosexual couples. Little is yet known about how...

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To explore similarities and differences between lesbian and heterosexual survivors of breast cancer regarding cancer experiences, medical interactions related to cancer treatment, and quality of life (QOL). DESIGN Qualitative study using focus groups. SETTING Urban, community-based health center. SAMPLE A convenience sample of lesbians (n = 13) and heterosexual women (n...

OBJECTIVES Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) populations exhibit elevated rates of psychiatric disorders compared to heterosexuals, and these disparities emerge early in the life course. We examined the role of exposure to early-life victimization and adversity-including physical and sexual abuse, homelessness, and intimate partner violence-in explaining sexual orientation disparities in mental ...

INTRODUCTION Research is needed on chronic health conditions among lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations. The objective of this study was to examine 10 diagnosed chronic conditions, and multiple (≥2) chronic conditions (MCC), by sexual orientation among US adults. METHODS The 2013 National Health Interview Survey was used to generate age-adjusted prevalence rates and adjusted odds ratios of ...

Public awareness of lesbian and gay couples is growing; attention to homosexuality in the popular media is increasing. Social scientists have also begun to describe and analyze the nature of gay and lesbian relationships. The new scholarship on homosexual relationships is important both to the scientific community and to the general public. For the emerging science of close relationships (Kelle...