Conducting the National Lesbian Health Care Survey: First of Its Kind

Journal of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association - 1999
Caitlin Ryan1, Judith Bradford2
1San Francisco State University, San Francisco
2Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond

Tóm tắt

The authors of the National Lesbian Health Care Survey (NLHCS) describe the process, challenges, and experiences in planning and conducting the first and largest lesbian health survey, which helped define lesbian health and mental health issues. Challenges include lack of funding, lack of awareness that sexual orientation may affect access to care and health outcomes, sexism, homophobia, fear of AIDS, and lack of guidelines for conducting survey research with lesbians. The methodology was designed to reach a broad range of lesbians throughout the United States, including low-income lesbians, nonurban lesbians, lesbians of color, and lesbians with less formal education. Planning the survey took several years and helped frame how lesbians conceptualize health. Planning began in the late 1970s and data were collected during the fall of 1984 and spring of 1985, at a time when AIDS was emerging as a major focus for community services, research, and funding, and this is reflected in the history of conducting the survey. The process of questionnaire distribution and data collection made broad use of lesbian networks throughout the country, creating for respondents a sense of participation in a larger movement with special significance for lesbians. The National Lesbian Health Care Survey resulted in demographic, health, mental health, and community life experiences from 1925 lesbians from all 50 U.S. states and several territories, and is still the most extensive study of lesbians published to date.

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Journal of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association

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