Analyzing Patient-Provided Responses to Improve Collection of Health Equity Data Elements

Self-report is purported to be the gold standard for collecting demographic information. Many entry forms include a free-text "write-in" option in addition to structured responses. Balancing the flexibility of free-text with the value of collecting data in a structured format is a challenge if the data are to be useful for measuring and mitigating health disparities. While much work has been done to improve collection of race and ethnicity information, how to best collect data related to sexual and gender minority status and military veteran status has been less commonly studied. We analyzed 3,381 patient-provided free-text responses collected via a patient portal for gender identity, sexual orientation, pronouns, and veteran experiences. We identified common responses to better understand our patient population and help improve future iterations of data collection tools.