Each week HuffPost Gay Voices, in a partnership with bloggers Liz Margolies and Scout, brings you a round up of some of the biggest LGBT wellness stories from the past seven days. For more LGBT Wellness, visit our page dedicated to the topic here.
1
LGBT Smokers Less Likely to Talk to Docs or Quitlines
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Research on LGBT smoking in Colorado showed of LGBT smokers trying to quit, a quarter of them didn't feel comfortable talking to their doctors about quitting and only 7% called a the quitline, 1-800-QUITNOW. Almost 1/3 reported they were less likely to call a quitline which didn't offer LGBT coaches. This shows how we need to tailor quitline outreach and services to LGBT people. Luckily CDC is doing just that right now with their new gay HIV+ Tips From Former Smokers ad and LGBT HealthLink has been active training one of the biggest quitlines on LGBT cultural competency.
2
Our Health is No Game
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Last weekend Baldwin Wallace college in OH hosted the first Conference on Current Issues in LGBTI Health Research which produced quite a buzz on twitter (#BWLGBTI) and with bloggers expressing their happiness, citing topics such as intersectionality, data collection, the IOM report on LGBT health, community based research, and sexual health. Meanwhile on the other side of Ohio, the 2014 Gay Games hosted LGBT athletic competition, and even surveyed attendees on homophobia in sports. Also, this man is suing his doctor for recording his sexuality as a “chronic condition.”
3
Great News On Trans Health
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Transgender veterans were surveyed by the VA, found that a combination of patient advocacy and leadership directed policy change increased their access to care in VA facilities. And in case we needed any more data to silence anti-trans rhetoric this new study found no negative, but several positive mental health effects, of testosterone use by transmen.
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4
Getting Knocked Up By Your Doctor
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Lesbian and bisexual women, and women of color, received about half the rate of care of white heterosexual women in medical assistance to achieve pregnancy; the researchers noted that while often economics are cited for health disparities, this may not be the case in the area of reproductive treatments aimed at pregnancy.
5
More like HATERosexism
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Heterosexism and racism are complex to navigate. LGBTQ students with greater self-acceptance were found to have better psychological outcomes when dealing heterosexism on campus, while South Asian LGBQ people found complex relationships between race and LGBQ status, with outness exacerbating psychological distress of those who also experienced high levels of racism. While these findings can be upsetting, they will help providers better understand how to focus on the needs of distinct populations.