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NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF GAY AND LESBIAN SCIENTISTS AND TECHNICAL PROFESSIONALS |
NOGLSTP Bulletin - Spring 1996
(featured excerpt) |
NOGLSTP Symposia
"Assessing Health Care for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Community"
(Seattle, Washington)
The American Association for Advancement of Science has accepted NOGLSTP's proposed session "Assessing Health Care of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Communities" for the 1997 AAAS Annual Meeting (AMSIE '97) to be held in Seattle Washington next February. This session will be cosponsored by the AAAS Section of Societal Impacts of Science and Technology.
Symposium Abstract:
"G/L/B/T health issues are coming out of the closet. Yet, homophobia, ignorance, lack of funding, and lack of research into health status of these communities inhibits health education efforts and deflects the establishment of good health-care practices as well as preventative health care procedures. What are the key health care needs of the G/L/B/T communities? How do they differ from the at-large general population needs? Up until now, these communities have generally been at best overlooked by many health care providers, or at worst actively discriminated against. Only recently have systematic needs assessments been undertaken to gain information on these populations. Demographic studies have varied on the measurement of these populations, depending on the type of instruments and sampling techniques involved. What effects do sexual identity, demographics, and satisfaction with health providers have on health-related behaviors and the utilization of preventative health care? How can we better understand the cultural conditions and socialization processes that affect these communities health and access to care? Can we reduce homophobia and increase understanding of these health issues by better training through sexual orientation sensitive, culturally competent, language-appropriate, patient-care curriculum for health care service providers? How can we target these communities as subjects for research initiatives and analyze research data stratified by demographic characteristics inclusive of sexual orientation, gender diversity, and sexual behavior? The methodological issues critical to research on these people will be explored as well as the implications for future research and health-care."
Some Featured Speakers:
Kate O'Hanlan, M.D., Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the Gynecologic Cancer Section of Stanford University School of Medicine and past president of the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association, who will speak on survey data of gay & lesbian physicians detailing homophobia in the medical community and how it relates to the delivery of medical services to the community.
Nancy Nystrom, graduate student in social welfare at the U. of Washington, detailing her survey of g/l/b/t individuals experience with health and mental health care providers.
Randell Sell, Sc.D., Primary Care research Fellow from Columbia University who will elaborate on measuring and defining homosexuality for public health research.
Karen Fredriksen, PhD., from U. of Washington School of Social Work who will talk on research addressing older lesbians.
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