Disparities in Digital Access at the Intersectionality of Race and Sexual Orientation

Healthcare and health services research when it pertains to racial or sexual minorities has identified many different factors that lead to a minority group being discriminated against or facing disparities in their care individually. However, there is very little research that examines the intersectionality of race and sexual orientation together. This study seeks to examine the relationship between the two and find if their access to the internet, and then healthcare by proxy, is equal to their racial or sexual orientation counterparts. The hypothesis is that areas with high Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) and People of Color (POC) populations will have less access to the internet. This is a quantitative study that examines the internet access of the 3225 counties of the United States. Factors such as county, region, race, sexual orientation, age, median income, and population were examined. The results showed that there is a direct correlation between a counties level of LGBTQ+people and the level of POC residents. A liner regression was done and showed a Multiple R value of 78%, an R squared value of 60.8%, and a P of 1.03712E-91. It was concluded that based on this data, there is not a direct correlation between race and sexual orientation and digital access. However, race and sex orientation showed to be closely tied to each other.