Receipt of routine gynecological exams among sexual minority college women

Sexual minority (non-heterosexual) women are at risk for sexually transmitted infections that could be detected during a routine gynecological exam. However, adult sexual minority women generally report lower rates of routine gynecological testing than heterosexual women. With regard to the receipt of routine gynecological exams among younger populations of sexual minority women, very little is known. Secondary analyses were conducted using data from the Spring 2006 National College Health Assessment to determine whether differences existed in having a routine gynecological exam during the past year based on sexual orientation and gender of sex partner(s) of sexually active female college students (n=29,952). Sexual minority college women were significantly less likely to have had a routine gynecological exam during the past year than their heterosexual counterparts. In particular, sexually active female college students who were lesbian (n=271) were 68% less likely (95% CI: 0.25, 0.41) than heterosexual female college students (n=28261) to have had a routine gynecological exam during the past year. Moreover, bisexual college women and women who were “unsure” of their sexual orientation were 2.55 and 2.09 times, respectively, more likely to have had a routine gynecological exam during the past year than lesbian college women. Similar results were reported based on gender of sex partner(s) during the past year. Additional research is needed to understand why sexual minority college women, particularly lesbians, do not obtain routine gynecological exams in order to develop appropriate interventions.