title: Active duty military personnel presenting for care at a Gay Men's Health Clinic.
abstract: Under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass" Department of Defense policy, gay men and women are allowed to serve in the military, but they are not allowed to disclose their sexual orientation. This study was performed to determine the incidence of active duty military personnel seeking care at a Gay Men's Health Clinic. Nine percent of the clients, who had served between June and August 2002, were active duty U.S. Navy sailors. They all expressed fears of being discharged from the military when asked why they did not access military healthcare. The "DADTDPDH" policy breeds distrust between men who have sex with men (MSM) service-members and their healthcare provider and this ensures inadequate healthcare.
authors.affiliation: Gay Men's Health Clinic, San Diego, California, USA. d13smith@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Davey M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003151:Community Health Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011640:Public Policy; D014481:United States