Research Methods With Gay Lesbian Bisexual And Transgender Populations

Take an in-depth look at what works—and what doesn't—in research with GLBT populations! This essential book examines the usefulness of current frameworks for research with GLBT populations and highlights the necessity for greater complexity in the conceptualization and design of research with these populations. It will help you understand the need for more inclusive and representative samples and the need to protect the privacy of GLBT research participants-and ways to accomplish these goals. In addition, Research Methods with Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Populations considers the advantages and limitations of having an “inside” perspective when conducting research with these populations. It also explores the myriad ways in which this research can be used to better understand issues facing GLBT communities. Specifically, Research Methods with Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Populations discusses: eight strategies that “outsiders” can use to overcome barriers to doing their work the challenges of finding and studying older members of gay and lesbian communities the special challenges that studying gay drug users pose to the researcher factors affecting research with urban Black and African-American GLBT populations sampling issues, including ways to overcome the challenges of conducting research with sexual minority adolescents, issues related to dealing with institutional review boards, and lessons derived from empirical articles in the Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services unique features of AIDS service organizations to consider when developing an evaluation strategy ethical standards for research and evaluation with GLBT populations and a great deal more! From the Foreword, by Anthony R. D'Augelli: “In social science research, the effort to extract durable principles of social causality from the apparent randomness of everyday life requires the construction of reliable, if tentative, knowledge that is significantly more informative than mere speculation. With our ever-increasing knowledge base, increasingly sophisticated and powerful quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and with an ever-expanding cadre of researchers, our ability to discern patterns of development of GLBT people from birth to death, the unique qualities of their relationships, and the impact of communities and cultures on the ways in which their sexualities are manifested, will come into sharper focus. In this way, research becomes a tool by which GLBT people transcend invisibility and marginalization. As new research accumulates, the unique contributions that GLBT lives make to our understanding of the nature of human development will be documented in ways never before thought possible. “Within the larger context of social science research on GLBT populations, this book describes the current status of social service researchers in their quest for methodological sophistication and conceptual complexity. The work of the contributors to this volume exemplifies the progress that has been made since the first research reports on this topic were published.”

Handbook of Research with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Populations provides a detailed examination of the current methods and theoretical frameworks for conducting research with LGBT populations. Introducing greater nuance in designing and implementing research models for working with these populations, Handbook of Research with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Populations provides guidelines for defining these groups, strategies to obtain more inclusive and representative samples, and methods for engaging these populations to produce consistent and relevant data. Collecting essays by notable researchers and scholars in the field, Handbook of Research with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Populations provides meaningful analyses of the ethics and practical constraints that researchers confront in dealing with LGBT populations--including protection of privacy--which is a special concern for many. For students, teachers, social workers, mental health professionals, and researchers of all backgrounds, this is an invaluable resource and guidebook for anyone seeking a better quality of understanding and engagement with LGBT individuals and communities.

At a time when lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals--often referred to under the umbrella acronym LGBT--are becoming more visible in society and more socially acknowledged, clinicians and researchers are faced with incomplete information about their health status. While LGBT populations often are combined as a single entity for research and advocacy purposes, each is a distinct population group with its own specific health needs. Furthermore, the experiences of LGBT individuals are not uniform and are shaped by factors of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographical location, and age, any of which can have an effect on health-related concerns and needs. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People assesses the state of science on the health status of LGBT populations, identifies research gaps and opportunities, and outlines a research agenda for the National Institute of Health. The report examines the health status of these populations in three life stages: childhood and adolescence, early/middle adulthood, and later adulthood. At each life stage, the committee studied mental health, physical health, risks and protective factors, health services, and contextual influences. To advance understanding of the health needs of all LGBT individuals, the report finds that researchers need more data about the demographics of these populations, improved methods for collecting and analyzing data, and an increased participation of sexual and gender minorities in research. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People is a valuable resource for policymakers, federal agencies including the National Institute of Health (NIH), LGBT advocacy groups, clinicians, and service providers.

This is the first concise handbook on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) health in the past few years. It breaks the myths, breaks the silence, and breaks new ground on this subject. This resource offers a multidimensional picture of LGBT health across clinical and social disciplines to give readers a full and nuanced understanding of these diverse populations. It contains real-world matters of definition and self-definition, meticulous analyses of stressor and health outcomes, a extensive coverage of research methodology concerns, and critical insights into the sociopolitical context of LGBT individuals’ health and lives.

At the request of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in 2010 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) convened a committee to assess the current state of knowledge about the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, as well as to identify research gaps and formulate a research agenda that could guide NIH in enhancing and focusing its research in this area. The findings are documented in this report.

The first book focused entirely on the growing field of LGBTQ health research, this volume provides the necessary public health tools to teach about and study LGBTQ populations effectively. Over the last 30 years, the health needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Americans have become increasingly recognized, in particular for the ways in which they are distinct from those typically assessed and addressed in society. Universities and researchers are paying greater attention to LGBTQ public health issues and how they might adapt existing methods to research marginalized communities, but—until now—there has been no authoritative resource to guide their education or practice. Developed for graduate students in public health and health sciences—but perfect for anyone interested in this topic—this book will fill that gap and provide the necessary public health tools to teach about and study LGBTQ populations effectively. Divided into three sections and edited by top scholars, LGBTQ Health Research explains research methods important to descriptive epidemiology that are needed to document health disparities among LGBTQ populations. The book also examines research methods that help explain the driving forces of these disparities. Focusing on real-world experience in developing and testing interventions to mitigate health disparities in LGBTQ populations, it also breaks down issues that challenge the direct application of standard research methods with these communities, including those related to sampling, measurement, choice of theoretical variables to explain the distribution of health and illness, cultural competence in intervention design, and community participation. Promoting the creation and diffusion of effective interventions, the book takes a holistic approach to address longstanding research gaps regarding important marginalized communities. It also documents profound health disparities in many LBGTQ populations across a wide range of health conditions and explains why future development of the field must be based on inclusive science and rigorous research methods. LGBTQ Health Research is an essential textbook for any courses that deal with the intersection of marginalization, health, sexuality, and gender. Contributors: José A. Bauermeister, Chris Beyrer, Kerith Conron, Brian Dodge, Rita Dwan, Stephen L. Forssell, Peter Gamache, Gary W. Harper, Mark L. Hatzenbuehler, Colleen Hoff, Carl Latkin, Ilan H. Meyer, Robin Lin Miller, Angulique Y. Outlaw, Christopher Owens, Tonia Poteat, Erin Riley, Joshua Rosenberger, Ayden I. Scheim, Shauna Stahlman, Randall Sell, Ron Stall, Rob Stephenson, Rachel Strecher, Ryan C. Tingler, Karin E. Tobin, Ronald O. Valdiserri, and Richard J. Wolitski

Learn what resources are needed for lesser-recognized LGBT health issues Most literature that explores LGBT health issues concentrates on HIV/AIDS while leaving research studies on other vital issues lacking. Current Issues in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health addresses this inadequacy by presenting a broad range of LGBT health issues from an interdisciplinary and mixed-method perspective. Leading experts present both quantitative and qualitative descriptions of health issues among various population groups, focusing on those topics poorly represented in present-day literature. This book is a strong start to fill in the blanks about unrealized health issues of LGBT individuals and offers insights into the resources needed to address them. Methods to assess sexual orientation and gender identity are not normally found in most population-based research. Because of the diversity within the relatively small LGBT population, research has been forced to generalize, making it less likely to effectively contribute to quality health issue data for these individuals. The research presented in Current Issues in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health takes particular care to specify how the orientation and sexual identity of study participants was measured. This book carefully mines previously unrevealed health disparities among LGBT populations across a broad spectrum of diseases—beyond the standard focus on HIV/AIDS. The most current and important studies are presented, including rare research on transgender health issues. The chapters are extensively referenced, and several include figures and tables to clarify and enhance understanding of the information. The wide range of topics in Current Issues in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health include: the inclusion of sexual orientation questions in research studies comparison of mental health issues between women of different sexual orientations mental health issues among men of different sexual orientations and HIV status in Australia the impact of sexual identity distress and social support in GLBT youth issues transgender youth health issues female-to-male (FTM) transexuals’ experiences accessing health care research on LBT domestic violence survivors health needs of male-to-female (MTF) transgenders of color Current Issues in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health is crucial, thought-provoking reading for researchers working in LGBT health, public health professionals working in community health and LGBT health, policymakers, advocates, public health and community health faculty, and students interested in LGBT health issues.