A leading national survey finds that 22% of LGBTQ+ women respondents have attempted suicide, and 66% reported seeking treatment for trauma.
鈥淭he trauma burden in this community is enormous,鈥� said Jaime Grant, one of the researchers who conducted the survey.
These findings are included in a from the Urvashi Vaid National LGBTQ+ Women鈥檚 Community Survey, named after the . The report comes from analysis of a national survey of 5,000 LGBTQ+ respondents who previously or currently identify as a woman, conducted between June 2021 and June 2022.
The analysis finds that LGBTQ+ women experience substantial health disparities, mental illness and barriers to care.
These findings come more than a decade after Grant鈥檚 earlier research found that transgender people had attempted suicide at a rate nine times higher than the national average. Grant, who also led the said those data helped improve medical treatment for transgender people. She hopes this report will do the same for LGBTQ+ women.
The survey found that respondents experience higher rates of mental illness than the general population. Nearly half of respondents live with anxiety (44%) or depression (51%). The National Association on Mental Illness reports 19% of U.S. adults have an anxiety disorder and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports 18% of U.S. adults have depression. The survey also found differences among race 鈥� respondents of color reported higher rates of disability and attempted suicide.
鈥淚t鈥檚 distressing to see such high trauma rates, but it鈥檚 consistent with what we鈥檝e seen in the past,鈥� says , an assistant professor at the Ohio State University who studies health disparities in LGBTQ+ communities and wasn鈥檛 involved in this report.
Under-utilization of health care system
The survey also sought to identify barriers to health care for LGBTQ+ women. Research shows that , but just over half of LGBTQ+ women in the survey reported being under the care of one. Respondents of color were twice as likely to say they lacked access to quality health care.
Respondents cited cost and discrimination as the leading reasons for why they put off or didn鈥檛 seek out medical care when they were sick or in need. Dyar says there鈥檚 been limited research done to determine what exactly limits access to care for LGBTQ+ women. 鈥淭hese numbers are great to have.鈥�
鈥淗istorically, medical spaces have not been safe for us,鈥� says Savy Elahian, who led the data analysis for this report and serves as a program coordinator with the National LGBTQ Institute of Intimate Partner Violence.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been experimentation [on people], there鈥檚 been medical racism. It鈥檚 important to understand the historical impacts, especially for LGBTQ+ people of color.鈥�
Elahian says the medical field is behind on understanding how to fully serve LGBTQ+ people, which can leave patients feeling unaffirmed and uncomfortable. This discomfort can impact how likely it is they鈥檒l return to a provider when they鈥檙e in need, which can be especially dangerous when thinking about preventative care.
According to the survey, 14% of respondents had never had a pap smear and all respondents were nearly twice as likely to have cervical cancer than . A 2022 study found that nearly 1 in 3 lesbian, gay, and bisexual women .
鈥淟GBTQ+ women and gender-diverse people are really missing out on preventative care and holistic wellness,鈥� says Elahian. While community-oriented care can help address certain health disparities, community centers and organizations can sometimes lack sufficient resources.
鈥淸LGBTQ+ people] still need to operate in these larger health systems,鈥� they add. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit inevitable.鈥�
Institutional change and community care
Report authors Grant and Elahian say they hope the medical field will learn from these findings.
鈥淭his is powerful data that people need to listen to,鈥� Elahian said, 鈥渇rom the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to doctor鈥檚 offices to medical universities.鈥�
Grant noted how the 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey and follow-up surveys helped to put numbers to suffering, reshape , and served as a model and resource for other researchers. She hopes the same thing will happen here.
While the has been led by community activists and researchers, it鈥檚 moving to a more prominent organization in an effort to boost its reach and impact. The survey will now be housed at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the group
鈥淭his is enormous for us,鈥� says Imani Rupert-Gordon, the organization鈥檚 president. 鈥淲e aren鈥檛 able to fully advocate for our community if we don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 happening in our community.鈥�
The Center, which serves as a litigation organization, will look to include the survey鈥檚 findings in their policy recommendations.
Grant and her team want these findings to go beyond just the doctor鈥檚 office and courtroom, though. 鈥淭his data needs to go to our own people, so they can know the current state of our health,鈥� says Elahian. To do that, they鈥檝e made the findings free and accessible to all and hope to disseminate the research through LGBTQ+ community groups.
Dyar emphasizes community-led surveys are often more accessible and tend to reach more respondents. Academic health disparity research 鈥渙ften ends up behind a paywall,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t can be really frustrating when our findings don鈥檛 get out there.鈥�
Elahian hopes that community education will foster people鈥檚 ability to self-advocate in medical settings -- yet another example of how community support .
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