LGBTQ Community

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) patients are often assumed to be cisgender and heterosexual by healthcare professionals, resulting in missed opportunities for a patient-centered experience. Although lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) is the common parlance, SGM is the preferred terminology in science-based settings (e.g., the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) because it includes individuals with minority sexual attraction, sexual behavior or gender identity whose sexual or gender identity is something other than LGBT. Despite bioethics placing anti-LGBT bias below professional standards, disclosure places SGM patients at risk of bias and discrimination, such as refusal to treat, stereotyping, and explicit and implicit bias. SGM patient disclosure is frequently inhibited by the anticipation of bias and discrimination from healthcare workers. By establishing a patient-centered practice, informed by the needs of SGM patients and their support network, physician assistants in palliative care medicine can enhance the end-of-life experience of their SGM patient population while optimizing community and individual resilience.