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Executive Summary
Pages 1-16

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From page 1...
... Committee on Lesbian Health Research Priorities was convened in duly 1997 to: 1. assess the strength of the science base regarding the physical and mental health of lesbians, 2.
From page 2...
... It is important to recognize that this is a workshop-study report with recommendations and that the committee's information gathering and deliberations were thus limited compared to those of a full IOM study. The committee identified several important reasons for directing attention to the study of lesbian health issues: · To gain knowledge to improve the health status and health care of lesbians.
From page 3...
... In fact, some factors assumed to place women at risk for or to protect them against health disorders might not be present at the same levels or operate in the same ways for lesbians. In addition to facing many of the same stressors as heterosexual women, women who self-identify as lesbian may also experience stressors not commonly faced by heterosexual women, such as "stigmatization" both within and outside the health care setting.
From page 4...
... In particular, it should not be assumed that racial and ethnic minority cultures share views of lesbian sexual orientation identical with those of the dominant culture. The committee notes that there is a dearth of research on racial and ethnic minority lesbians.
From page 5...
... Although many kinds of abuse and discrimination against lesbians have been documented clearly, their impact on physical and mental health still remains to be studied. Lesbians' access to health care services may be affected by such factors as the lack of culturally competent providers)
From page 6...
... The committee examined the available data on a number of possible health risks for lesbians and reviewed what is known regarding lesbians' risk for a variety of health conditions including cancer, cardiovascular disease, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and mental health and substance abuse problems. Given the limited availability of data that would allow a comparison of lesbian with heterosexual women, the committee did not find that lesbians are at higher risk for any particular health problem simply because they have a lesbian sexual orientation.
From page 7...
... Although the body of research on lesbian health is growing and there are now a number of well-designed, methodologically sophisticated studies examining these issues, methodological limitations are consistently found in much of the research on lesbian health: · Inconsistencies in the way sexual orientation is defined, as well as the lack of standard measures, make it difficult to compare findings across studies. Although the committee concludes that there are numerous ways to legitimately define lesbian sexual orientation in research studies, researchers have usually failed to state their definition and their reasons for using it.
From page 8...
... In addition to the methodological challenges to conducting research on lesbian health, the committee identified several contextual factors that researchers must also overcome. For example, researchers studying lesbian health may experience discrimination because of the stigma associated with this population.
From page 9...
... These benefits include identifying areas of increased risk that need attention and identifying gaps in health care services, as well as increasing understanding of the negative impact of homophobia on health. CONCLUSIONS Following its broad review of what is known about lesbian health and the factors that influence it, the committee reached three major conclusions: Conclusion 1: Additional data are required to determine if lesbians may be at higher risk for certain health problems.
From page 10...
... Population-based data on "lesbians" are needed to better understand these dimensions of sexual orientation and the interrelationships among them, the characteristics of the population and how these characteristics interrelate with health status, and the diversity of the population. · Priority 3: Research is needed to identify possible barriers to access to mental and physical health care services for lesbians and ways to increase their access to these services.
From page 11...
... RECOMMENDS {IONS The committee makes eight recommendations for improving the knowledge base on lesbian health. Recommendation 1: Public and private funding to support research on lesbian health needs to be increased in order to enhance knowledge about risks to health and protective factors, to improve methodologies for gathering information about lesbian health, to increase understanding of the diversity of the lesbian population, and to improve lesbians' access to mental and physical health care services.
From page 12...
... Such studies would include, for example, those in which an association between sexual orientation and health can be hypothesized or in which discrimination based on sexual orientation may result in differential access to health care services. Pilot studies are needed to test the feasibility of including these types of questions, with careful attention given to protecting confidentiality and assessing response bias and its impact on disclosure.
From page 13...
... Because there are wide social and cultural differences in the healthrelated stressors, risks, and protective factors to which lesbians are exposed in different social and cultural milieus, the committee recommends that studies of lesbian health include the full range of variations in race and ethnicity, social class, age, and socioeconomic status. Given the current lack of knowledge about lesbian health issues, it is imperative that researchers strive to involve members of the lesbian population being studied in the development, conduct, and dissemination of research on lesbian health.
From page 14...
... Recommendation 7: Federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, foundations, health professional associations, and academic institutions should develop and support mechanisms for broadly disseminating information and knowledge about lesbian health to health care providers, researchers, and the public. A clearinghouse for research on lesbian health should be established to make both published and unpublished research (e.g., conference papers)
From page 15...
... A variety of strategies might be used to increase training opportunities for lesbian health researchersfor example, including lesbian health in the scope of pro- and postdoctoral programs in all health professions. In addition, NIH institutes should consider targeting training grants on lesbian health or including lesbian research in the scope of existing training grants.
From page 16...
... However, some of the committee's other conclusions may not directly or equally apply to bisexual women (e.g., levels of risk for sexually transmitted diseases, interactions with the health care system)


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