LGBT Health Disparities Report Available Online
By: Brenda Coley - Posted on: 9/5/2006

This past April, Diverse and Resilient released an LGBT health disparities report which is now available online. Health Disparities among LGBT Populations in Wisconsin: A Summary Report of Needs was funded by a Healthier Wisconsin Planning Grant from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. The paper is authored by Gary Hollander, Ph.D., Brenda Coley, and David Seal, Ph.D., from the Medical College of Wisconsin. More than 15 community members contributed time and talent to this project.

Authors of the report advocate systematic research to better understand health disparities among LGBT populations, their underlying causes, and efficacious strategies to reduce disparities. They further advocate systemic policy changes to reduce identified disparities and their causes, such as lack of adequate health insurance. They advocate for programmatic changes to increase access to and utilization of health care prevention and treatment services by members of LGBT populations, including increased awareness of and sensitivity to their unique health care needs. Finally, the authors support the goal of LGBT individuals becoming more assertive advocates for themselves in public health and in health care environments.

Note: You can access the report directly at http://www.diverseandresilient.org/adult/documents/whitepaper-acx2.pdf.