Social support, self-rated health, and XXXX identity disclosure to @entity5 care providers.

@entity1 @entity5 @entity28679
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To describe factors related to diagnosis, identity disclosure, and social support among @entity28679 ( @entity28679 ) @entity1 with @entity5 , and to explore associations between these factors and self-rated health. DESIGN: Cross-sectional self-report survey design using descriptive and exploratory multivariate statistical approaches. SETTING: Online, Internet-based. SAMPLE: 291 @entity28679 @entity1 (89% Caucasian; 50% gay, 36% lesbian, 7% bisexual, 3% transgender) with mixed @entity5 . METHODS: @entity1 completed a researcher-designed online survey assessing experiences of @entity5 diagnosis among @entity28679 @entity1 at a single time point. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Demographics, which provider(s) delivered the @entity1 ' @entity5 diagnoses, to whom @entity1 had disclosed their @entity28679 identity, how they disclosed, who was on their social support team at the time of diagnosis, and current self-rated health. FINDINGS: 79% of @entity1 reported disclosing their identities to more than one @entity5 care provider. @entity1 most commonly introduced the topic of @entity28679 identity themselves, sometimes as a way to correct heterosexual assumptions (34%). Friends were the most common members of @entity28679 @entity1 ' support teams (79%). Four disclosure and support factors were consistently associated with better self-rated health. CONCLUSIONS: Disclosure of @entity28679 identity is a common experience in the context of @entity5 care, and disclosure and support factors are associated with better self-reported health among @entity28679 @entity1 . IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Creating safe environments for @entity28679 @entity1 to disclose could improve @entity5 care delivery to this underserved population. Nurses and other providers should acknowledge and include diverse support team members in @entity28679 @entity1 ' care.
