Patient Acceptance of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Questions on Intake Forms in Outpatient Clinics: A Pragmatic Randomized Multisite Trial

Objectives: To (1) test whether patient attitudes toward intake forms at three Midwestern outpatient clinics are significantly more negative among those who are asked to complete SOGI questions versus those who are not; and (2) gain an in-depth understanding of patient concerns about SOGI questions. Study Setting: Data were collected between 6/29/2015 and 2/29/2016 from new patients (N = 491) who presented at three outpatient clinics in a large academic medical center. This study was originally a quality improvement project, and later, institutional review board approval was obtained for secondary data analysis. Study Design: Two-stage mixed-methods study. (1) Experimental: New patients at three sites were randomly assigned to complete either routine intake forms (control) or routine intake forms with SOGI questions (experimental); and (2) qualitative: interviews with patients who responded negatively to SOGI questions. Principal Findings: There were no significant differences in patient attitudes between experimental and control groups (p >.05). Of those who received SOGI questions, only 3 percent reported being distressed, upset, or offended by the SOGI questions. Conclusions: Collection of SOGI data as a part of the routine clinical patient intake process is not distressing to 97 percent of patients who are heterosexual, cisgender, and older than 50 years.