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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sociol.
Sec. Medical Sociology
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2025.1488888
This article is part of the Research Topic Navigating Equality: Addressing Stigma and Discrimination Against Sexual and Gender Minorities in Access to Gender-Affirming Healthcare View all 3 articles

Pervasive systemic disparities: Medical-related gaslighting, trauma, and distrust among LGBTQ+ people in the United States

Provisionally accepted
Dustin Z Nowaskie Dustin Z Nowaskie 1*Dehandra Blackwood Dehandra Blackwood 2Frank Garcia Frank Garcia 3
  • 1 Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States
  • 2 Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York City, New York, United States
  • 3 Columbia University, New York City, New York, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Historically, LGBTQ+ people have and continue to endure discrimination across many contexts, including healthcare. Research and data from nationwide samples in the United States regarding medical-related stigma experienced by LGBTQ+ people are scant. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was distributed online to a national sample of United States residents. Participants answered questions about their healthcare, including experiences with medical-related gaslighting, trauma, and trust.Results: Compared to cisgender and heterosexual people (n = 857), LGBTQ+ people (n = 815) reported significantly higher rates of medical-related gaslighting (46.5% vs 26.5%, ORs 1.75-2.80) and trauma (18% vs 8.9%, ORs 1.63-2.66). Likewise, LGBTQ+ people conveyed significantly less trust (ORs 0.46-0.53) in primary care providers (59.8% vs 74.1%), medical specialists (56.5% vs 71.7%), pharmaceutical companies (17% vs 28%), insurance companies (15.9% vs 29.3%), and U.S. healthcare systems (17.8% vs 30.4%).Discussion: Medical-related gaslighting, trauma, and distrust are pervasive systemic disparities among LGBTQ+ people. Addressing these challenges will require ongoing, lifelong motivation, dedication, and commitment for LGBTQ+ education, advocacy, and leadership to dismantle current prejudiced practices and foster more inclusive, supportive, affirming healthcare environments.

    Keywords: gaslighting, LGBTQ+, Pharma, provider, Trauma, trust ORCID

    Received: 30 Aug 2024; Accepted: 17 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Nowaskie, Blackwood and Garcia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Dustin Z Nowaskie, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.