Sex Med Rev. 2026 Apr 2;14(2):qeag038. doi: 10.1093/sxmrev/qeag038.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Very little research exists on genitopelvic pain in racially/ethnically, sexually, and gender/sex minoritized samples despite its high prevalence among these groups. Existing frameworks of genitopelvic pain are based largely on White, heterosexual, cisgender women samples; applying these frameworks to minoritized samples may be prone to inaccuracies, as they do not account for minority stress and strength, social safety, and broader social determinants of health that structure exposure to pain, access to care, and health outcomes among marginalized populations.
OBJECTIVE: The main purpose of this scoping review was to synthesize findings of genitopelvic pain research published on racially/ethnically, sexually, and gender/sex minoritized samples in Canada and the United States.
METHODS: After removal of duplicates, the abstracts of 1330 articles were independently screened for eligibility for full-text review, of which 974 were excluded. Of the remaining 356, 59 studies were included for data extraction and synthesis. Results were organized according to the underrepresented sample of interest (racially/ethnically, sexually, or gender/sex minoritized) and subcategorized according to study aims focusing on prevalence, pain characteristics and experiences, minority stressors and strengths (eg, stigma, coping, resilience), social safety (eg, relational and healthcare contexts), and social determinants of health.
RESULTS: Results indicated that genitopelvic pain is prevalent, there are similarities and differences in pain characteristics and experiences, and variables related to minority stress and strength, social safety, and social determinants of health-when examined-were associated with pain prevalence, severity, coping, and care trajectories in racially/ethnically, sexually, and gender/sex minoritized samples.
CONCLUSION: Genitopelvic pain is common in racially/ethnically, sexually, and gender/sex minoritized individuals and is meaningfully shaped by minority stress processes, minority strength adaptations, social safety, and social determinants of health, underscoring the need for theory-informed and equity-oriented pain frameworks.
PMID:42341242 | DOI:10.1093/sxmrev/qeag038
