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. 1995 May;162(5):463–466.

Lesbian health care. What a primary care physician needs to know.

J C White 1, W Levinson 1
PMCID: PMC1022805  PMID: 7785267

Abstract

Many primary care physicians take care of lesbians and women sexually active with women without being aware of their patients' sexual orientation. These women have unique medical and psychosocial needs that each physician must consider. Lesbian identity or being sexually active exclusively with women influences care in areas such as sexually transmitted diseases, risk of human immunodeficiency virus infection, counseling, cancer risk, screening, parenting, depression, alcohol use, and violence. We review an approach to taking a history with all women that facilitates open, comfortable communication with lesbians. We also review specific medical and psychosocial areas of primary care in which caring for lesbians is different from caring for other women. Further research is needed on lesbian health issues to provide appropriate guidelines to clinicians.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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