Patient Acceptance of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Questions on Intake Forms in Outpatient Clinics: A Pragmatic Randomized Multisite Trial

Objectives. To (1) test whether patient attitudes toward intake forms at three Midwestern outpatient clinics are significantly more negative among those who are asked to complete SOGI questions versus those who are not; and (2) gain an in-depth understanding of patient concerns about SOGI questions. Study Setting. Data were collected between 6/29/2015 and 2/29/2016 from new patients (N = 41) who presented at three outpatient clinics in a large academic medical center. This study was originally a quality improvement project, and later, institutional review hoard approval was obtained for secondary data analysis. Study Design. Two-stage mixed-methods study, (1) Experimental: New patients at three sites were randomly assigned to complete either routine intake forms (control) or routine intake forms with SOGI questions (experimental); and (2) qualitative: interviews with patients who responded negatively to SOGI questions. Principal Findings. There were no significant differences in patient attitudes between experimental and control groups (p >.05). Of those who received SOGI questions, only 3 percent reported being distressed, upset, or offended by the SOGI questions. Conclusions. Collection of SOGI data as a part of the routine clinical patient intake process is not distressing to 97 percent of patients who are heterosexual, cisgender, and older than 50 years.