Open AccessPerceived Importance of Health Concerns Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Adults in a National, Probability-Based Phone Survey, 2017
Author(s) -
Marcella H. Boynton,
John E. Gilbert,
Bonnie Shook-Sa,
Joseph G. L. Lee
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
health promotion practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.483
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1552-6372
pISSN - 1524-8399
DOI - 10.1177/1524839920908226
Subject(s) - transgender , lesbian , public health , sexual minority , homosexuality , medicine , sexual orientation , youth risk behavior survey , psychology , gerontology , suicide prevention , poison control , social psychology , environmental health , nursing , psychoanalysis
Perceptions of the importance of health problems can drive advocacy, policy change, resource distribution, and individual behaviors. However, little is known about how lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT), that is, sexual and gender minority (SGM) adults view the health problems facing SGM populations. In a 2017 national, probability-based survey of U.S. SGM adults ( N = 453), we asked respondents to identify the most serious health problem facing SGM people today. Participants also rated the seriousness of five specific health problems (HIV/AIDS, suicide, hate crimes, harmful alcohol use, tobacco use). Analyses accounted for the complex sampling design and were stratified by gender identity. One quarter of U.S. SGM adults identified the most serious health problem facing SGM people to be HIV/AIDS (95% confidence interval [20.3, 31.2]). More respondents stated there were no serious LGBT health differences compared with straight/cisgender adults (4.2%, confidence interval [2.6, 5.9]) than identified tobacco use, hate crimes, chronic diseases, cancer, or suicide as the most serious. Importance ratings differed by gender and tobacco/alcohol use were perceived as less serious compared with HIV/AIDS, suicide, and hate crimes. Attention paid to HIV/AIDS by the SGM public, while important, may hinder efforts to address chronic diseases and other health issues affecting SGM people.