The needs of gay and lesbian people with IBD

What is this research looking at? 

We do not know if the experiences and concerns of gay and lesbian people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are the same as those for other people with IBD, or whether there are different or additional needs to be addressed. 

Gay men and women have historically faced stigmatisation associated with their sexuality, but have often developed personal management strategies.  It is not known if these strategies help or hinder them in relation to managing a long-term and severe illness such as IBD. 

It has been shown that in some cases gay and lesbian people have avoided interaction with health care services because they have felt these services have treated them badly.  This is very likely to have an impact on their IBD. 

There is also a lack of information about how gay and lesbian people access support,  whether they feel their needs are being met, and whether they feel included by Crohn's and Colitis UK or other support services. 

The aim of this study was to try to understand the issues and concerns related to IBD amongst the gay and lesbian population.  It examined how they manage the condition, how far they access support services, and whether such support services are geared up to meet their needs.  The researchers also sought to explore the parallels between coming out about sexual identity, and coming out about IBD. 

Nearly 60 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people completed a questionnaire about the impact of IBD on their life and the issues that they face.  The researchers then carried out in depth interviews with 24 patients in order to look at these issues in detail.  

Conclusions: 

The researchers found that there are many similar issues for both gay and non-gay people with IBD.   However, the majority of people in this study felt that their sexual identity had also had an impact - for example on their ability to access psychological care. Some of the people questioned felt very isolated, especially if they lived in rural areas. 

Gay and lesbian people were found to often use the same techniques for ‘coming out’ about their IBD that they used for ‘coming out’ about their sexuality.  The researchers think that there may be useful lessons for other people with IBD in managing the issue of who, how, and when to disclose their IBD diagnosis. 

What do researchers think this could mean for people with IBD? 

The researchers hope that this research will lead to more support and information for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people with IBD.  They also think that the experiences and techniques used by gay and lesbian people ‘coming out’ about their sexuality could be of wider use in helping anyone with IBD, regardless of their sexual orientation,  manage information sharing  more effectively and less stressfully.  

Who's leading the research: Ms Lesley Dibley, Buckinghamshire New University, Uxbridge
Our funding: £39,139 over 12 months
Official title of the application: “Living with IBD: perspectives of gay men and women in the UK.”
Tags: Relationships