Comparing Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Documentation Between Adolescent and Pediatric Primary Care Clinics

Recent literature suggests that sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) documentation is poor. We hypothesized that an adolescent clinic would have higher rates of SOGI documentation than a pediatric primary care clinic.

We performed a single-center, retrospective, observational study of patients ages 10-26 presenting to the primary care or adolescent medicine clinics of a tertiary care hospital from 2019 to 2021. Electronic medical record (EMR) data were analyzed using Python and Stata/MP 16.1.

Patients in the adolescent clinic were five times more likely to have to have complete SOGI documentation compared to primary care. Gender diverse youth were over six times more likely to have a recorded sexual orientation than cisgender youth across both clinics.

Adolescent providers document SOGI more often than primary care providers. Sexual orientation information for cisgender patients remains poor across environments. This study emphasizes the need for ongoing provider education on SOGI documentation.