Research Projects
Stimulating research in new directions in LGBT health and population research is at the heart of the Center's mission. The science of LGBT population research has been recently jumping over the hurdles that have stymied progress in the past. For example, innovative research methodologies have been devised and implemented to meet the challenge of sampling LGBT people, many of whom have historically been hard to reach. Further, new technologies allow study designs that better protect participant privacy--an especially pressing concern for many in this population.
Selected current and recent research projects of Center-affiliated scientists:
YRBS Data Pooling Project. A project led by Brian Mustanski and the Center's LGBTQ Youth Working Group, the YRBS Pooling Project combines data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS) to create a larger pooled sample of sexual minority youth. The pooled data set will be made available to Center researchers for collaborative analysis. YRBS are conducted every two years by state, territorial, and local education and health agencies in conjunction with Center for Disease Control (CDC). These probability surveys are representative of public high school students for the jurisdiction in which they are conducted. The surveys cover six categories of health-risk behaviors: behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence; tobacco use; alcohol and other drug use; sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection; unhealthy dietary behaviors; and physical inactivity. The YRBS are of particular interest to LGBT health researchers who study adolescents. While the CDC's core questionnaire does not contain any measures related to sexual orientation, states and districts have the option of adding additional questions to the CDC core questionnaire. Several states and districts add sexual orientation measures among their additional questions. The pooling project will merge data sets from these states.
Healthy People 2020 LGBT Health Disparities Briefs. To better advocate for the inclusion
of data related to LGBT health disparities and for the inclusion of LGBT experts in the Healthy People 2020
process, the Center teamed with The National Coalition for LGBT Health to produce scientific briefs on the
state of the LGBT evidence base for several topic areas. The Center and the Coalition will present these
briefs in organized public comment periods and to key leaders of Healthy People 2020. We created the briefs
by surveying a wide group of LGBT health research experts about the strength of the evidence base in LGBT
disparities. Using Healthy People 2010 objectives as a template, survey respondents were asked to rate the
evidence base showing areas of increased concern for one or more LGBT population groups. We collated
the answers and produced briefs for several topic areas. The briefs
report "insufficient evidence" for many of the health objectives,
reflecting the continued difficulty in assessing LGBT health disparities
given the absence of LGBT data collection in many national health
surveys. However, responders did indicate that the science provides
"strong" or "some" evidence of LGBT health disparities in a number of
Healthy People objectives. Among the health indictors with evidence for
LGBT disparities are: core competencies in health provider training,
colorectal cancer deaths, pap tests, suicide, adolescent suicide
attempts, healthy weight in adults, obesity in adults, adolescent and
adult use of illicit substances, binge drinking, alcohol consumption and
adult and adolescent tobacco use. The complete briefs can be downloaded
and provide more information:
