IOM REport Published

The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People: Building a Foundation for Better Understanding

Released:

March 31, 2011

Type:

Consensus Report

Topics:

Select Populations and Health Disparities, Biomedical and Health Research, Health Services, Coverage, and Access

Activity:

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health Issues and Research Gaps and Opportunities

Board:

Board on the Health of Select Populations

At a time when lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals—often referred to under the umbrella acronym LGBT—are becoming more visible in society and more socially acknowledged, clinicians and researchers are faced with incomplete information about their health status. While LGBT populations often are combined as a single entity for research and advocacy purposes, each is a distinct population group with its own specific health needs. Furthermore, the experiences of LGBT individuals are not uniform and are shaped by factors of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographical location, and age, any of which can have an effect on health-related concerns and needs. Researchers still have a great deal to learn and face a number of challenges in understanding the health needs of LGBT populations.

To help assess the state of the science, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) asked the IOM to evaluate current knowledge of the health status of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations; to identify research gaps and opportunities; and to outline a research agenda to help NIH focus its research in this area. The IOM finds that to advance understanding of the health needs of all LGBT individuals, researchers need more data about the demographics of these populations, improved methods for collecting and analyzing data, and an increased participation of sexual and gender minorities in research. Building a more solid evidence base for LGBT health concerns will not only benefit LGBT individuals, but also add to the repository of health information we have that pertains to all people.

Available at http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/The-Health-of-Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-and-Transgender-People.aspx  Reposted at http://keystothecloset.blogspot.com/

Is This The Biggest 48 Hrs Ever for LGBT Health?

Posted on March 31, 2011 by lgbttobacco Reposted at http://keystothecloset.blogspot.com/

Scout, Ph.D., Network Director

Scout

Director, Network for LGBT Health Equity, The Fenway Institute, Boston, MA

Report issued by Institute of Medicine on March 31, 2011.

Today at 11 am sharp the feds released the long awaited Institute of Medicine Report (IOM) on LGBT Health, or as we’re calling it in Twitterland #LGBTIOM. This report finally brings the often forgotten subject of LGBT health firmly into the light of day. Changes may or may not come from it, but we will never have to work as hard again to prove LGBT health disparities exist. Now we can just say, read all about it. I waited over my computer till 11 am thinking I was itching to read every inch of the tome. But apparently what I was really more interested in was, how much press was this getting? Luckily my home organization, The Fenway Institute, brought in some expert help to make sure press was gotten, the great folk at Renna Communications. Two of our scientists, including one of my mentors, Judy Bradford, helped write the book, so it’s good to get that news out. See our special page on it here. But it’s not all about press, first step was scan the executive summary to see what it said. Nice… it’s got lots of strong language saying collect LGBT data, enhance LGBT research, pay special attention to the subsets of LGBT, like LGBT of color, transgender people, bisexuals, etc. Love all that. See the IOM info and the short report summary here. Now onto the press, here’s just some of the coverage we know about so far: ABCNews.com Reuters Advocate Bay Windows DC Metro Weekly CNN Washington Blade LA Times What else? Send us a link at lgbthealthequity@gmail.com if you see it other places. Story about Tammy Baldwin planning to re-introducing her LGBT health bill tomorrow: http://lezgetreal.com/2011/03/rep-baldwin-to-reintroduce-bill-ending-healthcare-disparity-for-lgbt-americans/ And the Associated Press put out something that’s been picked up by lots of places, USAToday, etc.: http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/health/2011-03-31-study_of_transgender_N.htm or http://www.laramieboomerang.com/articles/2011/03/31/ap/us/us_med_gay_health.txt But the news doesn’t stop there, it was also announced at the press conference that NIH appointed an LGBT research liaison!! Love that, because we’ve been complaining to them for a while that their reception to LGBT research has been lukewarm at best. (See our testimony to them here.) But wait, there’s more… tomorrow, did you catch that it looks like Rep. Tammy Baldwin might re-introduce her well-thought out bill on LGBT health? Let’s hope that comes through, maybe it can ride some of this momentum and pass. And last, and certainly not least, tomorrow at 1:30 HHS officials are inviting insiders and out to a call ostensibly for LGBT health week, but rumor is it’ll be more than good tidings. *rubs hands* I can’t wait. Oh, and as the cherry on our 48 hour LGBT health sundae, here’s Secty. Sebelius’ memo on the IOM release.  Yes, let the press roll on. Let the bloggers get on the train, retweet it yourself, post it on Facebook, let LGBT health have it’s day in the sun. It is about time.

Closing Gaps in Healthcare for Our Community: Op-Ed on IOM Report on LGBT Health

Posted on March 31, 2011 at http://lgbthealthequity.wordpress.com/ and reposted at http://keystothecloset.blogspot.com/

by Scout, PhD

Network Director

Op-ed by Scout Crossposted from the Washington Blade: “Closing Gaps in Healthcare for Our Community“, March 31, 2011

“Don’t ever call an ambulance for me. I don’t care if I get hit by a car, let me die on the street. Just do not call an ambulance,” Arlene admonished me. I’d heard the horror story about the last time she went to a hospital so I couldn’t really blame her, but still, it was sad. No one should fear the medical system. But Arlene, like many other transgender people, has a learned and warranted fear of the medical system. Yet fear of the medical system isn’t the only problem out there.

As a cultural competency trainer, I know the stats all too well. Doctors and nurses feel free to openly express their personal disdain for LGBT people. Far from being a helping profession for us, accessing healthcare can be a minefield where political ideologies and personal prejudices trump the Hippocratic oath.

And while discrimination can be deadly, it is the more often the widespread ignorance that more often hurts us. Does a doctor know how to prescribe hormones for a transgender person? Have intake forms that don’t alienate LGBT people by asking about marriage? Have trained front-line staff who know to treat all with respect? Do the staff understand what health problems are more common for LGBT people? Do health care providers understand how to talk to us without stumbling and steering awkwardly clear of any issues of sexual orientation or gender identity? Lots of questions. And our community deserves not answers but solutions.

Well, I’m happy to say that this week the federal government made a major stride in both acknowledging and prioritizing LGBT health disparities. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the historic Institute of Medicine Report on LGBT Health. The Institute of Medicine imprimatur carries the highest regard among health professionals, so the mere existence of this report is a great step forward in prioritizing our health disparities. The report reviews the highest level of science available about our health disparities and makes strong suggestions for action at every level.

One of the most important suggestions is the simplest, count us. When the Census or health surveys don’t ask who is LGBT, it’s like locking us in the closet. It effectively hides our lives and all evidence of the disparities we struggle against. This is one simple step that LGBT advocates have been asking for ages and it is too long overdue.
I applaud the National Institutes of Health for commissioning this prestigious and comprehensive study, for not leaving transgender people behind, for taking due care to ferret out as much information as possible on LGBT communities of color. Each of these actions is a great stride. As the director of the Network for LGBT Health Equity I’ve been advocating for LGBT inclusion in health policy for many years, so trust me when I say, this is a truly historic moment.

But there is much to do. I think of my vulnerable young queer nephew and cousin. I don’t want them to take the path I did, and try to commit suicide. But I can see their isolation, I know how they struggle to find people who accept them. It’s going to take a lot to change their reality. So, at the end of the day we must remember this Institute of Medicine Report on LGBT health is just a book. The real change will come when federal officials, policymakers and medical providers take this book off their shelf and turn it into action. Action that cannot come a moment too soon.

Scout is the director of the Network for LGBT Health Equity at The Fenway Institute. A longtime LGBT activist, Scout is an openly transgender person living in a small town in Rhode Island and struggling to get his three kids through the trials of being a teenager.

Rep. Baldwin To Reintroduce Bill Ending Healthcare Disparity for LGBT Americans

03/31/11-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire  Posted at http://lezgetreal.com/2011/03/rep-baldwin-to-reintroduce-bill-ending-healthcare-disparity-for-lgbt-americans/  Reposted at http://keystothecloset.blogspot.com/,

That there are health care discrepancies between LGBT Americans and everyone else is something that is not new, nor is the fact that healthcare providers are not really aware of that fact, but a push has been made by Representative Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin to try and rectify that. She recently congratulated the National Academies’ Institute of Medicine for its report “The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People: Building a Foundation for Better Understanding.”

Baldwin, who is openly lesbian, is a member of the House Health Subcommittee, and Co-Chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus. With regards to this, she stated

“For years, in Congressional hearings, briefings, and meetings, I have asked our national health policy officials and medical experts, ‘What do you know about LGBT health?’ Only to hear, ‘I have to get back to you.’ Today, we’ve gotten a well-researched and most welcome response. I am delighted that after years of advocating for more attention to LGBT health disparities, IOM’s report will bring us closer to the goal of promoting good health for all Americans.”

She also said:

“We can’t overcome LGBT health disparities until we know what those disparities are and where they exist. Once we have solid data, the proper responses will follow. I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress and at the Department of Health and Human Services to implement the recommendations of the IOM report.”

The press release also noted:

In these types of reports, the IOM and the National Institutes of Health typically look at existing medical research and identify gaps in research that need to be filled. In their work to assess the health of LGBT Americans, the IOM report finds that there simply isn’t enough basic research to identify gaps. Its first recommendation, one that Baldwin has long advocated, is to start collecting data on LGBT Americans in order to begin identifying and addressing LGBT health disparities.

Baldwin intends to reintroduce the Ending LGBT Health Disparities Act in order to build upon the report’s recommendations. It should be noted, however, that it is unlikely that the bill will get through the House due to the Republican majority.

New Intimate Partner Violence Report

Make Intimate partner violence a priority for LGBTIQ Health Week. Posted at keystothecloset.blogspot.com

"Why it Matters: Rethinking Victim Assistance for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queerhttp://www.bravo-ohio.org/Why%20It%20Matters.pdf

Victims of Hate Violence & Intimate Partner Violence"  A Joint Policy Report by the National Center for Victims of Crime and the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs is available at

This report makes recommendations and ultimately proposes collaboration between mainstream victim

assistance agencies and LGBTQ-specific anti-violence programs to increase the efficacy and equity of

services provided to LGBTQ victims of crime, particularly hate violence and intimate partner violence.

The recommended strategies will be effective only when supported by the necessary changes in laws and

policies to provide LGBTQ victims of crime with equal access to victims’ rights and services.

The National Center for Victims of Crime and the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs make the

following recommendations:

1. Build collaboration among LGBTQ anti-violence programs and mainstream victim assistance

providers to increase the availability of culturally competent services for LGBTQ victims of crime

by providing LGBTQ-specific training for criminal and civil justice system personnel and victim

assistance providers.

2. Assess and evaluate the implementation of state and federal protections for victims of crime and

implement policy and legislative changes to assure that LGBTQ victims have equal access to protections.

3. Increase public awareness of the extent and impact of victimization against LGBTQ individuals

and communities and on crime victims’ rights and services through national and local public

awareness, education, and outreach campaigns.

4. Increase state and federal funding for collaboration, training, outreach, services, research, and

data collection on the victimization of LGBTQ people.

About This Report

The National Center and NCAVP began this collaborative survey and report to gain a better understanding

of the victim services provided to LGBTQ victims of crime throughout the United States. The focus

of this joint policy report is on the crimes of hate violence and intimate partner violence against LGBTQ

people, because these are the crimes that are most reported to NCVAP programs. This report confirms

that gaps in services for LGBTQ victims of violence exist and shows the need for culturally competent

service provision through LGBTQ and mainstream service providers’ collaboration. These gaps in services

compromise the safety of LGBTQ individuals, families, and communities.

LGBTIQ Health Week: Tobacco 1

I will be posting a new site devoted to tobacco-related issues soon. This is an important issue. Happy LGBTIQ Week and be safe!

Posted at keystothecloset.blogspot.com

SMOKING

Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the United States, and it disproportionately affects the LGBT community: LGBT people smoke between 50 and 200 percent more than the general public. On average, gay and bisexual men smoke twice as much as straight men, while lesbian and bisexual women are up to three times more likely to be smokers than straight women. The statistics for tobacco use among LGBTQ young people are even more alarming: approximately 1 in 2 LGBTQ youth between the ages of 18 and 24 smokes.

The high rates of smoking among LGBT people are the result of numerous factors, including peer pressure, the stress of coping with discrimination, socializing oriented around bars and clubs, and aggressive tobacco industry targeting of the LGBT community. Obstacles to effective tobacco cessation treatment for LGBT people, such as a lack of cessation programs tailored to the LGBT community, anti-LGBT discrimination in health care settings, and financial barriers, further magnify the negative impact of tobacco on the LGBT community.

Tobacco is the primary cause of many deadly lung diseases, including lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Smoking also contributes to complications for people living with HIV and increases risk of cardiovascular disease. Sponsoring the tobacco industry by smoking provides free advertising for the industry, even while their profits ruin our community’s health. This LGBT Health Awareness Week, come out for health against Big Tobacco – commit to quit!

Together, we can decrease tobacco’s impact on our community by:

 Creating a smoke-free environment: ask your neighborhood bars, cafes, and restaurants to go smoke-free. Research shows that, after creating a smoke-free environment, most businesses actually see an increase in their number of customers

 Supporting our friends and family members when they are trying to quit

 Avoiding the tobacco industry’s “stop smoking” campaigns: most of the campaigns designed by the tobacco industry are ineffective and may actually increase smoking

 Including evidence-based anti-tobacco campaigns: if your organization offers anti-smoking programs, make sure to include information relevant to the LGBT community

Learn more:

Mautner Project (www.mautnerproject.org)

Network for LGBT Health Equity (www.lgbttobacco.org)

Legacy for Health (www.BecomeAnEX.org)

Partnership for Tobacco Free Maine

American Lung Association

LGBT Health Awareness Week

Posted on  alert from National Youth Advocacy Coalition [nyac@nyacyouth.org] and reposted at http://keystothecloset.blogspot.com/

LGBT Health Awareness Week aims to bring attention to the devastating cycle of discrimination and health disparities that affects the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Because LGBT people are regularly discriminated against in employment, relationship recognition and insurance coverage, they are more likely to get sick and less likely to be able to afford vital health care than their straight and non-transgender neighbors. In support of LGBT Health Awareness Week and LGBTQ youth, NYAC encourages you to be active in taking care of you in order to have a strong youth movement. Here are some links for more youth information:

Fabulous Resource Page from Advocate for Youth

LGBTQ Youth Fact Sheet

LGBTQ Youth Info (CDC)

 

Info on Affordable Care Act and LGBTIQ Community