Vaccination uptake in LGBTQ adults in two US states: Findings from the QVax study.

Publication date: Sep 14, 2024

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and other (LGBTQ+) individuals face numerous health disparities, including higher rates of chronic diseases and sexually transmitted infections, partly due to marginalization, discrimination, and a healthcare system often unprepared to meet their specific needs. Despite the importance of vaccination in preventing these health issues, vaccination patterns in LGBTQ+ populations remain under-researched, with limited data available due to the absence of sexual orientation and gender identity information on most healthcare forms. As such, we sought to understand vaccine uptake among LGBTQ+ individuals living in New Jersey and New York for 7 primary adult vaccines. Participants were 768 LGBTQ+ adults living in New Jersey and New York, US. We recruited this convenience sample through community centers and events, social media, and listservs of local professional organizations. The online survey examined uptake for 7 adult vaccines. Of the 7 adult vaccines, human papilloma virus (HPV) had the lowest proportion of participants who were fully/partially vaccinated (54. 4 %), followed by hepatitis A (59. 8 %), hepatitis B (63. 0 %), meningitis B (63. 7 %), seasonal influenza during the COVID-19 pandemic (70. 2 %), seasonal influenza before the COVID-19 pandemic (70. 3 %), and nearly all participants (99. 2 %) received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. For Shingles virus, among participants age 50+, 63. 8 % were fully/partially vaccinated. In adjusted models, age was the strongest predictor of vaccination uptake in HPV, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningitis B, and seasonal influenza before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Younger participants were more likely to be vaccinated for 4 of the 6 vaccines, excluding Shingles (

Concepts Keywords
Healthcare COVID-19
Influenza Hepatitis
Lgbtq HPV
Meningitis LGBTQ health
Unprepared Vaccination

Semantics

Type Source Name
disease MESH health disparities
disease MESH chronic diseases
disease MESH sexually transmitted infections
disease MESH hepatitis A
disease MESH hepatitis B
pathway KEGG Hepatitis B
disease MESH meningitis
disease MESH influenza
disease MESH COVID-19 pandemic
disease MESH Shingles
disease MESH Hepatitis

Original Article

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