Lesbians' experiences of cervical screening

Brown, Alan; Hassard, Julie; Fernbach, Madeline; Szabo, Edith; Wakefield, Melanie

doi:10.1071/he03128

Cited by 19 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…(lesbian, aged in her 30s) Several of the women interviewed reported being told by their doctors that they did not need Pap testing. This was also reported in a previous survey of lesbian and bisexual women in which 9% had been discouraged by a healthcare provider from having a Pap test (Brown et al 2003). This occurred either because the doctor assumed that lesbians did not require pap tests or because the woman was uncomfortable disclosing her sexual orientation in the consultation, allowing the doctor to assume she was heterosexual and had never had sex: I've never been offered one.…”

Section: Pap Test Historymentioning

confidence: 49%

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Absent sexual scripts: lesbian and bisexual women's knowledge, attitudes and action regarding safer sex and sexual health information

Power

McNair

Carr³

2009

Culture, Health & Sexuality

101

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Despite recent evidence demonstrating that lesbian and bisexual women are at risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), there is a common perception that STIs cannot be transmitted between women. This paper reports on a study in which a self-report questionnaire, completed by over 300 lesbian and bisexual women and a comparison group of heterosexual women, was undertaken to determine lesbian and bisexual women's levels of knowledge about the human papillomavirus (HPV) and their attitudes toward the HPV vaccine and cervical smear testing. Alongside this, a series of in-depth interviews with lesbian and bisexual women explored how they perceive their level of HPV risk, the reasons why they do or do not feel at risk and how they manage their sexual health in relation to their lesbian or bisexual identity. The study concludes that lesbians generally feel at low risk for STIs because they are excluded from dominant sexual scripts that inform the negotiation of safer sex practice. Lesbians are unlikely to engage with sexual health promotion targeted toward gay men or heterosexual women, yet lesbian-specific sexual health promotion does not adequately construct an alternate discourse on safer sex that lesbians can relate to their own sexual practice.

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Section: Pap Test Historymentioning

confidence: 49%

“…Australian studies, however, have found similar screening rates among lesbians to the general female population (Brown et al 2003). Notably, a recent Australian study of gay/ lesbian/bisexual/transgender health found that 79.3% of the female respondents had had a Pap test (Pitts et al 2006).…”

Section: Pap Test Historymentioning

confidence: 92%

Absent sexual scripts: lesbian and bisexual women's knowledge, attitudes and action regarding safer sex and sexual health information

Power

McNair

Carr³

2009

Culture, Health & Sexuality

101

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In fact, clinicians may even discourage lesbians from obtaining such preventive care (56). Underscoring health care providers’ influence on young women’s HPV vaccine use, several studies found that discussing the vaccine with a clinician was positively associated with vaccine initiation among young U.S. women (57–59), including lesbian and bisexual women aged 18–26 years (37).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual Orientation Identity Disparities in Awareness and Initiation of the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Among U.S. Women and Girls

et al. 2015

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Background Lesbians and bisexual women are at risk of human papillomavirus (HPV) from female and male sexual partners throughout the life course. Objective To examine the association between sexual orientation identity and HPV vaccination among U.S. women. Design We used cross-sectional data 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) data. Setting U.S. civilian noninstitutional population. Participants The NSFG used stratified cluster sampling to establish a national probability sample of 12,279 U.S. women aged 15–44 years. Analyses were restricted to the 3,253 women and girls aged 15–25 years who were asked about HPV vaccination. Measurements Multivariable logistic regression was used to obtain HPV vaccine awareness and initiation prevalence estimates adjusted for socio-demographic and health care factors for each sexual orientation identity group. Results Eighty-four percent of U.S. women and girls aged 15–25 years reported having ever heard of the HPV vaccine; of these, 28.5% had initiated HPV vaccination. The adjusted prevalence of HPV vaccine awareness was similar among heterosexual, bisexual, and lesbian respondents. Among those who had heard of the vaccine, 8.5% (p = 0.007) of lesbians and 33.2% (p = 0.33) of bisexual women and girls had initiated HPV vaccination compared to 28.4% of their heterosexual counterparts, adjusting for covariates. Limitations Self-report, cross-sectional data. Findings may not be generalizable to time periods after 2006–2010 or all U.S. lesbians aged 15–25 years (small sample size for this group). Conclusions Adolescent and young adult lesbians may be less likely to initiate HPV vaccination compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Programs should facilitate access to and utilization of HPV vaccination among young lesbians, a marginalized and underserved population. Primary Funding Source National Cancer Institute Cancer Education Program grant 3R25CA057711.

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“…28,29 Risk of HPV transmission has been found to be associated with an increased number of male partners and the use of insertive sex toys between women. 29 Rates of abnormal cervical cytology are similar to those of exclusively heterosexual women 30 and yet lesbians have lower cervical screening rates in the USA. 31 In Australia, lesbians have been a target group for specific cervical screening campaigns in several states.…”

Section: Cervical Hpv and Cellular Abnormalitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risks and prevention of sexually transmissible infections among women who have sex with women

McNair¹

2005

Sex. Health

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Health care providers working with women who have sex with women (WSW) have been ill-informed about a range of sexual health issues for these women. Pertinent issues include sexual behaviours that carry risks of sexually transmissible infection (STI), prevention strategies for safer sex and understanding experiences of abuse. A relative silence continues in all of these areas within the mainstream medical literature, textbooks, research and policy documents, which perpetuates medical ignorance. There is evidence that the prevalence of STIs among WSW is at least as high as among heterosexual women, if not higher among some sub-groups. Risk factors include the sex and number of sexual partners, minimal use of protected sexual behaviours and low levels of knowledge of STI prevention among WSW. Importantly, marginalisation leading to poorer mental health and experiences of abuse can combine to influence risk taking including substance abuse and risky sexual behaviours. Safe-sex guidelines and the need to recognise the impact of sexual abuse are presented.

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Lesbians' experiences of cervical screening

Cited by 19 publications

References 13 publications

Absent sexual scripts: lesbian and bisexual women's knowledge, attitudes and action regarding safer sex and sexual health information

Absent sexual scripts: lesbian and bisexual women's knowledge, attitudes and action regarding safer sex and sexual health information

Sexual Orientation Identity Disparities in Awareness and Initiation of the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Among U.S. Women and Girls

Risks and prevention of sexually transmissible infections among women who have sex with women

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