Trust in physicians among young sexual minority men

Abstract

Trust in physicians and the medical establishment more broadly is critical for access to and provision of relevant healthcare services. This is especially true for sexual minority men (SMM) as their healthcare is negatively impacted due to stigma and discrimination which in turn affects disclosure of sexual behavior and sexual orientation. This study sought to understand trust in physicians (TIP) as it relates to anal sex position, difficulty in paying for healthcare, insurance status, and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use. This study employs data from a cross-sectional survey conducted between February 2018 and February 2019. The final analytic sample is 179 sexual minority men who reported an human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) negative serostatus and identified as a sexual minority person (i.e., non-heterosexual). The present use of the Trust in Physicians Scale is further dichotomized for analytical purposes. The results show that slightly over half of the participants (52%, n = 93) reported trusting their physicians. Higher trust in physician scores were associated with preference of anal sex position (insertive or receptive as opposed to versatile/no preference), less difficulty in paying for health care services, people who were uninsured, and those who were currently using PrEP. In conclusion, TIP plays a critical role in disclosure of sexual orientation and sexual behaviors that allow for the delivery of necessary and appropriate healthcare services. Findings from this study can be used to develop best practices for taking patient histories that foster trust and disclosure of sensitive health information.

Keywords

• sexual minority men
• trust in physicians
• prep
• healthcare