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LGBTI survey – mixed experiences with screening
NEW STUDY FINDS DIFFERENCES IN LGBT+ SCREENING EXPERIENCES AND PARTICIPATION
Lynn Swinburne, Senior Health Promotion Officer, Public Health Department, National Screening Service. Astudy of the LGBT+ community’s interaction with cervical screening shows that negative screening experiences can have an effect on uptake in that community. Issues faced included assumptions by some sample takers that the person being screened was heterosexual.
While many LGBT+ people reported positive experiences of cervical screening, the report found that the community’s participation in screening could be encouraged by inclusive and targeted campaigns, specialist LGBT+ clinics, and through LGBT+-friendly GP practise environments, explained Lynn Swinburne, Senior Health Promotion Officer, Public Health Department, National Screening Service.
The study was undertaken by the National Screening Service’s Health Promotion team in collaboration with LINC (Cork) in 2020 and 2021. A steering group made up of stakeholder and community representatives oversaw the implementation of the study, which was conducted by Dr Maria Power of Community Consultants in Co Waterford.
The aim of the study was to examine the knowledge, attitudes, participation and experiences of lesbian and bisexual women, trans men, non-binary and intersex people with a cervix in cervical screening in Ireland.
Approximately 450 people who identify as LGBT+ took part in the study, which was carried-out using an online survey, focus groups and stakeholder interviews.
The study found that people in the LGBT+ community face a number of barriers to attending cervical screening and they are also subject to a higher degree of misinformation than other groups.
The main barriers to attending cervical screening were identified as: • assumptions by healthcare professionals that the person being screened was heterosexual, and questions asked that
were based on those assumptions • fear of the test procedure • embarrassment • bad experience of cervical screening in the past.
Over 62% of respondents had not stated their gender/sexual identity when engaging with their healthcare professional in cervical screening. Many expressed a need to feel welcomed, safe, and free to be out in clinical settings where they see themselves reflected in the environment.
Many respondents reported that basic consultation practices were not followed, e.g. not being informed about the procedure they were about to undergo, or being told what their test results would mean, or what might make the procedure more acceptable for them.
Many respondents pointed to a high level of misinformation communicated to the LGBT+ community, both by healthcare professionals and by the LGBT+ community itself, on the need for cervical screening for LGBT+ people.
While many in the study reported positive experiences of cervical screening, only 66.5% said they attend screening regularly, which compares to 80% in the general population.
The report’s recommendations included: LGBT+ training for sample takers, and the promotion of screening directly to the community using culturally-appropriate images and language.
The LGBT+ Cervical Screening Study can be viewed on www.screeningservice.ie/news/ index.php
