Adolescent health care experience of gay, lesbian, and bisexual young adults

Methods: Subjects were 102 self-identified gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth aged 18-23 years. A confidential self-administered survey elicited demographic information, sexual orientation information, health care experiences, subjects' understanding of medical confidentiality during ages 14-18 years, and their suggestions for improving care to gay and lesbian adolescents. Results: Two-thirds of subjects never discussed sexual orientation with their provider but reported a desire to do so. Fewer than one-half of subjects remembered being informed about their right to medical confidentiality; those who reported being so informed were three times more likely to have discussed their sexual orientation with their provider. Over 70% of subjects who reported not being informed about their right to medical confidentiality stated that they would have been more likely to discuss sexual orientation with their provider had they been so informed. Only 13 of subjects had disclosed their sexual orientation to their health care providers. Of these, only half of the males received information on human immunodeficiency virus prevention. Conclusions: Health care providers may be failing to fully address issues of confidentiality and sexual orientation with adolescents, despite a decade of increased information on adolescent homosexuality. (C) Society for Adolescent Medicine, 1998.