Discrimination and health: Examining impacts of multiple minority status among Black lesbians

Discrimination experienced due to minority status with regard to sexuality, gender, or race has the potential to impact people's physical health (Bowen-Reid & Harrell, 2002) and mental health (Mays & Cochran, 2001), directly or indirectly through limited access to health care settings (Krieger & Fee, 1994; Matthews, Hughes, Osterman, Kadol, 2005; Mcnair, 2003; Phillips-Angeles, et al., 2004). While the experiences of being a multiple minority are often discussed as having an additive or compounding impact, particularly for lesbians of color (Greene, 1995), the hypothesis that experiencing multiple forms of discrimination increase the likelihood of health or health care access problems has not been fully explored. To contribute to the literature on the relationship between discrimination and health, we conducted a survey (n=89) of adult Black lesbian and bisexual identified women using convenience sampling methods. The survey included questions on multiple domains of health, such as current health status, health care setting access, mental health, and experiences with discrimination. The current study seeks to test the hypothesis that experiences with discrimination are correlated with health status and health care behaviors in the last 2 years. Further, this study will test whether there is a significant difference in health status and health care behaviors between those who have experienced one form of discrimination and those who have experienced more than one form of discrimination. Findings and implications for public health intervention development will be presented and discussed.