Center for Population Research in L G B T Health

improving health for sexual and gender minorities

Welcome!

Over the past three decades, a growing cadre of scientists has painstakingly built the knowledge base around LGBT health concerns. It is now widely acknowledged that sexual and gender minority groups experience health disparities as a result of multiple socio-cultural factors. Studies have shown that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender populations have higher prevalence of life-threatening physical and mental health conditions, experience barriers to health care access, and face substantial threats to quality of life.

The Center for Population Research in LGBT Health supports and stimulates research to fill critical knowledge gaps related to the health of sexual and gender minorities, strengthening the foundation for culturally competent treatment and behavior change models. Our scientific vision is to create an infrastructure that will support the collaborative work of LGBT health researchers and integrate intellectual and methodological expertise in the interdisciplinary fields of LGBT health and population research. We aim for a synergistic increase in productivity as a result. The Center supports the work of collaborating scientists and partner organizations by creating opportunities to meet and plan further research, formalizing a mentorship process for junior scientists, making datasets available for further studies, and creating a platform for ongoing communication and shared projects among the group.

Featured Findings

25 States Have Included Sexual Orientation Items in the BRFSS

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A review of questionnaires fielded by states in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) revealed that twenty-five states and the District of Columbia included at least one item measuring a dimension of sexual orientation at some point during the period between 1995-2011.

(more)
  • 9 states (California, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin) included an item that assessed sexual orientation identity and an item that assessed same-sex sexual behavior.
  • 5 states (Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, and Texas) included one item that assessed same-sex sexual behavior. Georgia and Florida did not include sexual orientation items state-wide, but measures were included in some counties.
  • 11 states (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio) and the District of Columbia included one item that assessed sexual orientation identity.

In many states, inclusion of sexual orientation items changed over the period examined. Question wording varied across states and within states across years. Leigh Evans conducted the review by searching CDC's BRFSS website and State-Added Questions Database, GayData.org, and state health department websites for information and questionnaires. When information was unavailable online, she contacted BRFSS State Coordinators.

For Further Thought

  • What are the advantages of included sexual orientation items on BRFSS?
  • Given the variation in question wording, can findings related to sexual and gender minorities be compared across states?
  • Which dimensions of sexual orientation are most important to include in population-based surveys?

 

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