The health professional-user relationship is essential for quality of care, especially in women's health services, where sexuality should be carefully approached due to its considerable relevance. The aim here is to describe the experience of a homosexual woman seen at a health center. An experience report was performed. Due to the fact that revelation of female homosexuality is not common practice in health services, a case study format was opted for based on description of the experience of treatment by a homosexual woman at a renowned healthcare center in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, during the second semester of 2004. An open interview was held with the following lead question: Tell me about your experience of service at the health center. The data were analyzed using two thematic categories: (a) treatment received at the center and (b) communication with the healthcare professional. As was concluded, it was possible to begin reflecting on the fragility of interpersonal relations between homosexual women and healthcare services. Although the former have access to care through the gynecology department, the communication process is highly superficial, and fails to clarify important issues relating to sexuality, thus missing an opportunity to perform educational work in the prevention of STDs, including HIV.
Female homosexuality; Health services; Professional-patient relations