Director's Message: NIH Formally
Recognizes Sexual and Gender Minorities as a Health Disparity Population
On
behalf of many colleagues who have worked together to make today possible, including
the NIH
Sexual and Gender Minority Research Office, I am proud to announce the formal designation of sexual and
gender minorities (SGMs) as a health disparity population for NIH research.
The term
SGM encompasses lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations as well as
those whose sexual orientation, gender identity and expressions, or
reproductive development varies from traditional, societal, cultural, or
physiological norms.
Mounting
evidence indicates that SGM populations have less access to health care and
higher burdens of certain diseases, such as depression, cancer, and HIV/AIDS.
But the extent and causes of health disparities are not fully understood, and
research on how to close these gaps is lacking.
The
Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act of 2000
authorizes the NIMHD Director, in consultation with the director of the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), to define health disparity
populations. This month, I, with strong support from AHRQ Director Andrew
Bindman, M.D., formally recognize SGM as a disparity population for research
purposes recognizing that SGM experience health disparities and
discrimination. The designation builds on previous steps by NIH to advance
SGM health research, encourages additional attention to be focused on the
health inequalities in SGM communities, and promotes the coordinated approach
to research applied to other health disparities populations.
Eliseo
J. Pérez-Stable, M.D.
Director
National
Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
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