Impact of hospitals' LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts on patient satisfaction from 2016 to 2023: a retrospective longitudinal observational study.

Background: Given the emphasis on promoting inclusive policies, we investigated the relationship between US hospitals' inclusion efforts for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, and other sexual and gender-diverse (LGBTQ+) populations and patient satisfaction from 2016 to 2023.

Methods: This retrospective longitudinal observational study analysed 6 years of data between 2016 and 2023 from the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI), which measures hospitals' LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts, and the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, which measures patient satisfaction. Generalised estimating equations (GEE) were used to obtain population-averaged estimates of the association between hospitals' LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts-assessed by (1) their participation and (2) performance in the HEI (range: 0-100)-and patient satisfaction-measured by (1) patients' hospital rating (range: 0-100) and (2) willingness to recommend the hospital (range: 0-100). We accounted for hospital characteristics, including medical teaching status, specialised service capability, hospital size, ownership, system membership, region and metropolitan location.

Results: Compared with hospitals that never participated in the HEI, those that occasionally participated reported a 0.33-point higher patient rating (p=0.019, 95% CI 0.05, 0.60) and a 0.49-point higher patient recommendation score (p=0.011, 95% CI 0.11, 0.87). Those who always participated reported a 1.30-point higher rating (p<0.001, 95% CI 0.89, 1.70) and a 1.90-point higher recommendation score (p<0.001, 95% CI 1.36, 2.44). Among hospitals that participated in the HEI, a 10-point increase in the total HEI score was associated with a 0.10-point increase in patient ratings (p=0.031, 95% CI 0.01, 0.20) and a 0.15-point increase in patient recommendations (p=0.023, 95% CI 0.02, 0.28).

Conclusion: Hospitals engaging in LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts are associated with higher patient satisfaction.