Cancer Screening Practices Among Sexual Orientation Groups

Background: Increasing cancer screening testing is a national health initiative to decrease the mortality rates of all Americans; however, cancer screening practices among sexual minorities have been understudied. Objectives: To assess and compare breast, cervical, prostate, and colorectal cancer screening practices among straight, lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. Methods: A descriptive-correlational study was conducted using data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. Respondents who answered questions about their cancer screening practices and sexual orientation were included. Results: This study identified disparities in breast cancer screening practices with bisexual women (81.9%) meeting the screening recommendation more often than lesbian (78.2%) and straight women (77.5%) (p = 0.012). Disparities were identified in colorectal cancer screening practices with bisexual men and women (73.3%) meeting the screening recommendations more often than lesbian women and gay men (69.1%) and straight individuals (68.9%) (p = 0.006). Disparities were identified in prostate cancer screening practices with gay men (66.5%) meeting the screening recommendation more often than bisexual (58.1%) and straight men (47.8%) (p \u3c 0.001). Disparities were not identified in cervical cancer screening practices among the different sexual orientation groups (p = 0.061). Conclusion: There is a direct correlation between breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer screening practices among sexual orientation groups