Transforming the Paradigm for LGBTQ+ Evaluation: Advancing a Praxis of LGBTQ+ Inclusion and Liberation in Evaluation

This chapter reports on the evaluation of state and local level National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health Care (aka CLAS Standards), specifically those standards addressing the health needs of sexual minority individuals, with an emphasis on the inclusion of bisexual+ communities and the implications of bisexual+ (non)inclusion in CLAS standards. At the state and local levels, bisexual identity is rarely recognized as distinct from other sexual identities. This lack of representation raises an essential issue of how local communities, states, and the federal government struggle with sexual minority data classification and prioritizing health benchmarks for sexual minority populations and subpopulations. We also found that the CLAS cultural competency policy definition at the federal level lacks an appropriate degree of bi‐inclusivity. The findings from this study reveal that the five states in our sample implemented CLAS Standards in ways that demonstrated bi‐erasure. Specifically, states defined gender and sexual minorities through exclusionary categories that place emphasis on the “Other”. LGBTQ+ evaluators can rely on the Principles of LGBTQ+ Evaluation to create strategies that demonstrate how to effectively address the intersecting ramifications of bi‐erasure at the policy level.

“…Our article hopes to demonstrate an example of Kuhnian paradigmatic change that still needs to occur for more inclusivity of Bi+ communities. (Phillips et al., 2022)…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Reflections On the Forecast Model And Principles Of Lgbtq+ E...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the inclusivity of the national CLAS standards enhancement initiative of bisexual identities

Pavão

McLeroy

Lincoln³

et al. 2022

“…This is entirely understandable. As several of this piece's authors noted in a recent publication in the American Journal of Evaluation (Phillips et al, 2022), we believe that often, cisgender, heterosexual, gender conforming, and non-intersex (a.k.a., non-LGBTQ+) evaluators may find themselves feeling stuck regarding LGBTQ+ inclusion in their work. We hypothesize this is attributable to a lack of prior data on which to base their decisions, a lack of clear guidance or field standards to turn to in designing their own approach, and a lack of widespread support of or investment in LGBTQ+ peoples.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…LGBTQ+ Evaluation (Phillips et al, 2022;Miller, 2018;Chapter 1, This Issue) This special issue, as well as prior work from our team and others in the field, is, we believe, an essential framework for evaluators approaching this work. Rather than centering a single theory, LGBTQ+ Evaluation frames itself around core Principles (Chapter 1) which can be applied within any evaluative framework and alongside any critical theory of LGBTQ+ health.…”

Section: Theory/framework Brief Description and Examples Of Applicati...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The guiding Principles put forward in this special issue, and the key action steps we have identified elsewhere (Phillips et al, 2022), are essential starting points for evaluators new to working with LGBTQ+ communities Minority Stress Theory (Brooks, 1982;Meyer, 2003;Testa et al, 2015;McConnell et al, 2018) Explores how both distal (e.g., external experiences of stigma or discrimination) and proximal (e.g., internal responses to said experiences) stressors create both psychological and physiological stress responses, which can lead to poor health outcomes and maladaptive coping behaviors among LGBTQ+ populations. Originally developed for use with sexual minorities along a single dimension of oppression, it has since been adapted to assess experiences of gender minorities and to incorporate intersectional perspectives (Continues)…”

Section: Theory/framework Brief Description and Examples Of Applicati...mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Becoming an LGBTQ+ storyteller: Collecting and using data on gender, sex, and sexual orientation

Felt

Perez‐Bill

Ruprecht

et al. 2022

LGBTQ+ stories and histories have long been silenced as part of deliberate work by those in power to erase our identities and experiences. As evaluators, we contribute to the process of either silencing or uplifting LGBTQ+ stories. This aspect of our work begs a number of vital questions that each of us must reckon with when we approach an evaluation: What data are necessary to allow us to tell a story? What story will we tell with the data we have collected? And, most importantly, who does the telling of certain stories benefit, who might it harm, and what is our responsibility as evaluators to protect peoples’ stories? Proceeding from these questions, this chapter has three distinct parts. In Part One, we establish a common language. By integrating perspectives from the social sciences and LGBTQ+ community scholarship, we provide an overview of the complex and contextually specific nature of sex, sexual orientation, and gender, and discuss the implications of these complexities on how we approach collecting LGBTQ+ data. In Part Two, we consider the power of the stories we tell to impact the lives of LGBTQ+ people, and the frameworks, theories, and ethical imperatives which may help us to contribute to a narrative of LGBTQ+ liberation through our work. Finally, in Part Three, we offer an example tool for readers to use as they consider how they would approach this work in their own practices.

Principles of LGBTQ+ Evaluation

Phillips

Felt

Perez‐Bill

et al. 2022

The time is long overdue for the field of evaluation to critically reckon with how we have failed to appropriately consider the needs and experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ+) people. Perhaps even more importantly, there is a dire need for work that moves us forward in new directions which are more affirming and inclusive of LGBTQ+ people. To achieve this idealistic change in LGBTQ+ Evaluation will require a genuine, transformative paradigm shift within the evaluation field, encompassing everything from pedagogy to practice and all activities in between. As a first step toward a unified paradigm of LGBTQ+ Evaluation, this chapter proposes eight Principles of LGBTQ+ Evaluation to guide evaluators’ work in partnership with and in service of LGBTQ+ communities, organizations, and individuals. Here we are not seeking to provide a script or a rigid framework but rather to create guiding signposts that light the way for evaluators new to LGBTQ+ Evaluation.