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Addressing Health Disparities Affecting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Youth and Adults in Wisconsin
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Stransky, Elizabeth Gavin, Melissa J. Engel, Emily C. Benditt, Lauren C. |
| Copyright Year | 2009 |
| Abstract | The Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs is a nonpartisan teaching and research department of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The school takes no stand on policy issues; opinions expressed in these pages reflect the views of the authors. Foreword This report is the product of a semester-long collaboration between the Robert M. Inequality in health conditions is an empirical and health policy puzzle about which much remains unknown, although much progress has been made toward solving it. Public health policy that seeks to address unmet health needs is hampered by the lack of knowledge about who is at greater risk of certain health conditions and why that is the case. This report addresses health differentials between the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) population and the non-LGBT population. As this report shows, the size of the LGBT population in Wisconsin is not known because no survey asks the questions needed to identify all LGBT individuals. Some identify LGB status based on sexual behavior, mis-classifying those who identify as LGB but are not sexually active. In addition a serious concern is that nonconsensual sex, including violent sexual assault, could misclassify the assaulted individual as LGB or non-LGB based on the assaulter's gender. Other surveys categorizing individuals on the basis of self-identification, misclassifying individuals reluctant to reveal their sexual preferences in surveys, especially if administered face-to-face. The stigma that may limit health care for LGB individuals causes the failure to identify them. Finally, surveys rarely identify transgender individuals, a limitation evident in the Wisconsin data. Most survey questions about gender provide only the male/female option and have no questions that differentiate between current and natal gender. This report presents analyses of Wisconsin health surveys of youth and adults. It documents a statistically significant difference in health conditions between Wisconsin's LGB and non-LGB populations (surveys, including the three this report analyzes, rarely identify transgender individuals). Sample size and LGB identification issues limit additional analysis of the reasons for these disparities. The authors' analyses suggest, however, that adverse health conditions are more prevalent among LGB individuals because they are more likely to engage in more health risk behaviors, although evidence suggests that family support and other " safety indicators " reduce the probability of adverse health conditions. These results inform the recommendations that the Department of Health Services improve data collection and review programs instituted elsewhere that attempt to reduce LGBT health … |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://www.lafollette.wisc.edu/images/publications/workshops/2009-lgbt.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
