Study finds doctors likely to be biased against LGBT people

By John Mack Freeman

A new study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that many healthcare providers harbor internal biases towards their LGBT patients. The study found that an implicit preference for heterosexual patients was pervasive among heterosexual healthcare providers. Via Advocate.com:

The researchers looked at results from the Implicit Association Test taken among a sample of more than 200,000 medical doctors, nurses, mental health providers, and other treatment providers as well as nonproviders from May 2006 to December 2012, according to the AJPH’s abstract. The medical news website PsychCentral reported that users of the test were asked to respond to statements such as “I strongly prefer straight people to gay people” and “I strongly prefer gay people to straight people.”

“We want all providers to be proficient in treating diverse populations,” Dr. Janice Sabin, University of Washington professor and lead researcher on the study, told PsychCentral, “including the LGBT population.”

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