Health Care Issues Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Populations in the United States: Introduction

Abstract

This supplemental issue of the Journal of Homosexuality presents research that explores a variety of health care issues encountered by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) population groups in the United States over the 10-year period from 1993 to 2002. Topics include access to health care, utilization of care, training of medical and mental health providers, and the appropriate preparation of clinical offices and waiting areas. Authors used a variety of community-based public health research methods, including participant and provider surveys and retrospective chart reviews of patients, to develop this body of research, providing a recent-historical perspective on the complex health care and health-related needs of sexual and gender minorities. Particularly for transgender and intersex populations, the state of research describing their health care needs is in its infancy, and much remains to be done to design effective medical and mental health programs and interventions.

Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges: Understanding the Pervasive Needs of Older LGBT Adults and the Value of Social Work in Health Care

“…Optimal delivery of health care involves practice and interventions designed around the specific needs of the population served (C. V. Johnson, Mimiaga, & Bradford, 2008;Mayer et al, 2008;Stein et al, 2010). Effective service-delivery models in health care involve good communication and culturally sensitive practices and further aim to balance individual capacity with environmental opportunity (Compton & Galaway, 1989;Ryan, Meredith, MacLean, & Orange, 1995;World Health Organization, 1984).…”

Sexual Health, HIV, and Sexually Transmitted Infections among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men in the United States

“…Providers need to be able to conduct sexual histories, conduct regular HIV/ STI screening using samples collected from appropriate anatomical sites, and provide sexual health information in an accurate and nonjudgmental manner [104,106]. In addition to increasing provider training in these areas, other strategies that may improve health care providers' ability to deliver appropriate services include creating health care settings in which MSM feel welcome, educating MSM about the services they should be receiving from their health care providers, and motivating MSM to ask for these services [105,[114][115][116].…”

The HIV Epidemic: High-Income Countries

“…4). In 2009 surveillance, it is likely that such phenomena as "prevention fatigue," young MSM without a memory of AIDS in the pretreatment era, and minority MSM who are not reached by prevention messages targeting LGBTI communities (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex) are contributing to the worrisome trends in nations as diverse as the United States and China (Wolitski et al 2001;Rietmeijer et al 2003;Johnson et al 2008;Scheer et al 2008;Xu et al 2010;Hao et al 2011). Both behavior and biology are relevant to the MSM epidemic.…”