By CHARLES ROBBINS
Years from now, students taking a health class may get tested on, “what important study was released on March 31, 2011?” The answer: today, the Institutes of Medicine released an historic report about the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans that started a wave of healthcare industry reforms to improve the overall health of this diverse community.
This might be a slight exaggeration, but that the federal government released an inclusive health study about LGBT people is historic, nonetheless. It opens the door to more research and more knowledge and ultimately better services for members of our community, which is especially exciting regarding our youth.
One thing we know for sure is that we don’t know a lot about LGBT youth. There is very little existing research on the LGBT population as a whole, but even less research exists about LGBT young people, and very few nationally recognized studies have been conducted about young gender variant, gender queer, and transgender youth. What this means is, while young people are now identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender at earlier ages, the public health industry is has very limited information about how to help them.
This lack of information about LGBT youth is perhaps one of the reasons why Florida has the fifth-highest call volume to the Trevor Lifeline in the country, based on 2010 statistics. As a national suicide prevention lifeline, we know that many of youth who call feel they have no place else to turn. In Florida, these youth are calling because they are experiencing depression, anxiety, loneliness, relationship troubles with family members or peers, or they have questions about their sexual orientation or gender identity. The challenge is, without the research to explain why Florida’s LGBT youth are in such desperate need of The Trevor Project’s suicide prevention lifeline, the state cannot begin to address the problems LGBT youth face. Thankfully, this new report from the Institutes of Medicine opens the door for more federally funded research to address these gaps.
It will take some time before robust information about the health of LGBT youth is known and can be fully integrated into health systems of care. However, this report is an important step for healthcare providers, state and local policy makers to begin allocating resources, adjusting policies, and providing better health services for LGBT youth, in Florida and across the country.
Photo Top: Kathy Griffin and Jane Lynch backstage at Trevor LIVE, at the Hollywood Palladium
Photo: Charles Robbins is the Executive Director of The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. Learn more at www.TheTrevorProject.org.
