Robert W. S. Coulter is with the Behavioral and Community Health Sciences Department, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, PA. Karey S. Kenst is with the Disparities Solution Center, Mongan Institute for Health Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. Deborah J. Bowen is with Department of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Boston University. Scout is with the Network for LGBT Health Equity, Fenway Institute, Fenway Health, Boston.
Am J Public Health. 2014 Feb;104(2):e105-12. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301501. Epub 2013 Dec 12.
We examined the proportion of studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations, along with investigated health topics.
We used the NIH RePORTER system to search for LGBT-related terms in NIH-funded research from 1989 through 2011. We coded abstracts for LGBT inclusion, subpopulations studied, health foci, and whether studies involved interventions.
NIH funded 628 studies concerning LGBT health. Excluding projects about HIV/AIDS and other sexual health matters, only 0.1% (n = 113) of all NIH-funded studies concerned LGBT health. Among the LGBT-related projects, 86.1% studied sexual minority men, 13.5% studied sexual minority women, and 6.8% studied transgender populations. Overall, 79.1% of LGBT-related projects focused on HIV/AIDS and substantially fewer on illicit drug use (30.9%), mental health (23.2%), other sexual health matters (16.4%), and alcohol use (12.9%). Only 202 studies examined LGBT health-related interventions. Over time, the number of LGBT-related projects per year increased.
The lack of NIH-funded research about LGBT health contributes to the perpetuation of health inequities. Here we recommend ways for NIH to stimulate LGBT-related research.
我们调查了由美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）资助的、关注女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋和跨性别者（LGBT）群体的研究在多大程度上以及针对哪些健康主题进行研究。
我们使用 NIH RePORTER 系统，在 1989 年至 2011 年 NIH 资助的研究中搜索与 LGBT 相关的术语。我们对纳入的 LGBT 内容、研究的亚人群、健康焦点以及研究是否涉及干预措施进行了摘要编码。
NIH 资助了 628 项有关 LGBT 健康的研究。不包括有关 HIV/AIDS 和其他性健康问题的项目，只有 0.1%（n=113）的所有 NIH 资助的研究涉及 LGBT 健康。在与 LGBT 相关的项目中，86.1%研究了性少数男性，13.5%研究了性少数女性，6.8%研究了跨性别群体。总体而言，79.1%的与 LGBT 相关的项目专注于 HIV/AIDS，而较少关注非法药物使用（30.9%）、心理健康（23.2%）、其他性健康问题（16.4%）和酒精使用（12.9%）。只有 202 项研究检查了与 LGBT 健康相关的干预措施。随着时间的推移，每年与 LGBT 相关的项目数量有所增加。
缺乏 NIH 资助的 LGBT 健康研究导致健康不平等持续存在。在这里，我们建议 NIH 采取措施来促进 LGBT 相关研究。
