Keywords

Sex work, sexual health, non monogamy, polyamory, healthcare access

Abstract

Access to health care services is critical to both personal health outcomes and health equity within a community. While non-monogamous behavior is widespread, stigma surrounding consensual non-monogamy can create barriers to health care access. This research outlines the experiences of non-monogamous women during sexual health care visits, how class acts to modify those experiences, the barriers to health care access that they encounter, and the adaptive strategies they employ. The sample for this research was 23 consensually non-monogamous women. Participants were contacted through online support groups, message boards, and snowball sampling. In-depth interviews about their sexual health care experiences were conducted. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for themes related to the intersection of non-monogamy and health care experiences. The interactions between health care professionals and non-monogamous women, whether or not those women disclose their non-monogamous status, were often perceived as stigmatizing. Increased class status, both of participant and of provider, was described as increasing experiences of stigma and barriers to care. The information provided by this research may be used to better understand, and thus improve, the barriers health care access experienced by non-monogamous women. Suggestions given by the participants for improving their health care access and decreasing experiences of stigma are included.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2015

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Carter, Shannon

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Sociology

Degree Program

Applied Sociology

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0005662

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0005662

Language

English

Release Date

May 2015

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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Included in

Sociology Commons

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