Reasons American lesbians fail to seek traditional health care

Abstract

What reasons do lesbians have for not seeking health care? From three women's cultural events in 1990, a convenience sample was formed of 503 women (78% of whom were lesbians) who volunteered to complete a pretested qualitative and quantitative instrument. The reasons given for not seeking health care from traditional sources were that (a) low-cost, natural, or alternative care is not provided; (b) holistic care is not provided; (c) little preventive care and education are provided; (d) communication and respect are lacking; and (e) there are few women-managed clinics.