Each week HuffPost Gay Voices, in a partnership with blogger Scout, LGBT HealthLink and researcher Michael G. Bare, 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
Fighting HIV in the Trans Community
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The Transgender Law Center was awarded $200,000 to study how discrimination, stigma and harassment contribute to HIV epidemic among trans people, while researchers from Brown University have reviewed clinical trials on PrEP, citing that trans women were only 0.2% of total research participants. They suggest that PrEP trials specifically for trans women should be conducted for both effectiveness and to research barriers trans women may have to access PrEP.
2
Somewhere Between Denial And Vague Awareness
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The Milwaukee Tobacco Free Alliance just released the findings from their assessment of the LGBTQ community's’ readiness to do tobacco prevention. Despite the fact that LGBTQ people there smoke at 2x the rate of everyone else, the local community's readiness to do tobacco work was very low. Overall, they were gauged to be between denial and vague awareness there was even a problem. Guess there’s a lot of work to do on this health issue.
3
The Smokey Mountains
Dennis Govoni via Getty Images
New research into LGB smoking in Appalachia finds that social cohesion and fitting in to be reasons to smoke, and barriers to quitting. In the words of one participant: “If we’re out in public, they holler names they shouldn’t holler… it puts a little bit of pressure on you… It makes you want to smoke.” Hopefully this research will lead to some innovative health interventions!
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4
Fight HPV, Fight Cancer
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A University of Washington review of lesbian HPV research cited cervical cancer risks among lesbians included low rates of Pap smears, not seeking regular gynecological care, not perceiving HPV as a threat and lack of health care provider knowledge of HPV risk in lesbians. According to research from the Melbourne School of Public Health, over half of young gay and bisexual boys (age 16-20) were infected with HPV during the study; the researchers cite the need for all adolescent boys and girls to receive the HPV vaccine.
5
Trans Access
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The HRC’s Corporate and Municipal Equality Indexes released last month have cited exceptional gains in trans access to health care: with corporations (169 Fortune 500 companies, and others) and city governments taking the lead in ensuring trans employees have the health care they need!
6
For Our Youth
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Two rulings have improved the lives, and thereby health, of LGBT students: the Federal government found that transgender student identities are protected under Title IX and that a school “must treat transgender students consistent with their gender identity in all aspects of the planning, implementation, enrollment, operation, and evaluation of single-sex classes,” and Washington, D.C. joins the growing ranks of places banning “gay conversion therapy.”
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