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

Printer-friendly version

This new report, by the Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health Issues and Research Gaps and Opportunities; the Board on the Health of Select Populations; and the Institute of Medicine, sets an agenda for “essential” research needed to form a fuller understanding of LGBT health issues, including:

   * Demographic data across the life course and subpopulations;
   * Information on the role social structures — such as families, schools and workplaces — play in the lives and health of LGBT people;
   * Data on the health care inequities LGBT people face; and
   * Transgender-specific research, including the health implications of hormone use.

Because LGBT people are a minority of the population, it is often difficult for researchers to recruit sufficient numbers for their studies to yield meaningful data. It’s also difficult for researchers to synthesize data when existing studies and surveys use a variety of definitions as to who is included in specific category groups.

The summary is available (at no charge) on this site.