Comfort with having sexual orientation recorded on official databases among a community and online sample of gay and bisexual men in Aotearoa New Zealand

A. H. Ludlam; H. Petousis-Harris; B. Arroll; P. J. W. Saxton

doi:10.1071/HC23107

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Comfort with having sexual orientation recorded on official databases among a community and online sample of gay and bisexual men in Aotearoa New Zealand

A. H. Ludlam

¹ ^* , H. Petousis-Harris

¹ , B. Arroll

¹ , P. J. W. Saxton

²

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

¹ Department of General Practice & Primary Health Care, School of Population Health, School of Population Health, University of Auckland, New Zealand.

² Department of Social & Community Health, School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.

^* Correspondence to: a.ludlam@auckland.ac.nz

Handling Editor: Tim Stokes

Journal of Primary Health Care 16(3) 243-249 https://doi.org/10.1071/HC23107

Submitted: 6 September 2023 Accepted: 12 December 2023 Published: 17 January 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Introduction

Sexual orientation minorities have worse health outcomes than the heterosexual majority. In 2023, Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) added sexual and gender identity items to the Census, offering actionable data for improving sexual identity and gender identity (SOGI) community health. However, this also raises questions about individuals’ willingness to provide such information to Government and their comfort with data privacy and governance.

Methods

Using data from gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM) participants of the Gay Auckland Periodic Sex Survey and Gay Men’s Online Sex Survey 2014 cross-sectional surveys, the study question examined comfort having their sexual orientation recorded in official databases. A logistic regression model was used to identify independent predictors of comfort, including sociodemographic and behavioural variables.

Results

Of 3173 participants who completed the question, 63.1% were comfortable with recording sexual orientation. Adjusted odds ratios showed less comfort among those identifying with an ‘Other’ ethnicity (AOR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.43–0.96), identifying as bisexual (AOR: 0.45, 95% CI: 0.35–0.56), and those who did not believe their GP to be aware of their sexuality (AOR: 0.32, 95% CI: 0.26–0.40). No sexual behaviours were independently associated with comfort.

Discussion

The majority of GBM participants reported comfort with having their sexual orientation recorded on official databases, but some are not, and this is patterned by sociodemographic variables. Officials should improve the safety and perceived relevance of sexual orientation data collection efforts to increase their representativeness and utility for sexual minority populations.

Keywords: data collection, disclosure, electronic health record, health disparities, sexual and gender minorities, sexual behaviour, sexual orientation, SOGI data.

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