Post from Dr. Scout and Network for LGBT Equity

Network Changes: Saying Goodbye to Gustavo & Taking a Staff Break

As I’ve mentioned before, we’ve now hit the funding gap between the current and the next health disparity network awards. As of tomorrow, the Network will no longer be staffed until we hear (hopefully!) that we’ve been chosen as one of the next round of disparity networks. We expect this news to come in one to two months. Until then, Scout, the stalwart Steering Committee, and Daniella will be checking in every so often to keep the dust from gathering. This Network started with the efforts of amazing volunteers, so this is just a bit of going back to our roots. Good news is we think we’ve submitted a very strong proposal for the next round of funding so are optimistic we’ll be restaffed in a month or two.

Sadder news for us is our project manager, the amazing Gustavo Torrez, has decided he’s heading off for firmer ground. I don’t think there’s a person who’s interacted with the Network who could fail to realize just what a gem Gustavo is. He’s been in tobacco control since he was 12 years old! He’s long been a fearless youth advocate, is a force of nature when he presents, and can make hugely complicated events like our summit come off so smoothly we almost forget how hard we worked before he came on board. We shall miss Gustavo dearly, but we have faith he will stay one of the leaders to watch in tobacco control.

Changes aren’t always easy, but hold tight, the Network is much more than a few staff, plus we’re planning some great new things come Fall.

NIH's 1st LGBTI Research Listening Session

Reposted at  http://tobaccodeathray.blogspot.com,

Director, The Fenway Institute's Network for LGBT Health Equity

Sometimes you have throwaway days, then sometimes you have really high impact ones, right? Well, today was about as high impact as it gets. I've been nudging NIH to open communications with LGBT researchers for years and today I had the distinct pleasure of being in the room as they launched their first ever LGBT research listening session. Considering that agency has about $40 Billion dollars in research funds, and considering they are easily the leading health research institution in the world, I'd say anytime we get to talk LGBTI health with the top mgmt for an hour and a half is pretty useful. Understand, many LGBTI researchers never even get to speak to these folk once. We got to sit there and yak and yak about what we think they should do on LGBTI health. And we heard there were over a hundred more watching and sending in comments on the videocast.

The day held a couple of surprises too. First, they hired a new guy who's in charge of getting more LGBTI staff on board, Albert Smith. Literally his business card reads "LGBTI Program Manager" at NIH. Pretty sweet eh? Since we know how internal champions really move issues, now's the time for us to recruit great new folk to NIH. Second, NIH really showed their true commitment to keeping the information flowing by announcing that they had just released an RFI, or Request For Information. This literally declares it open season for all of us to give our input on LGBTI health research from now til October. See the RFI here.

 

And of course we all brought up excellent suggestions: invest in career development, data collection, create an office of LGBTI health, do more tobacco research, make sure the program managers are as welcoming as the mgmt wants them to be, do more on Two Spirit, intersex, transgender people. Look at intersectionality more. Put out anal cancer guidelines. If you weren't one of the hundred plus watching online... they'll put the webcast up in a few days, and we'll update with the link.

OK, time for all of us to sharpen our pens, kinda like if you don't vote in an election, when there's this big and broad a call for us to tell them what is needed, speak up now or forever hold your peace, right?

Reoposted at

NIH Takes Important Steps for LGBT Health

Article by Dr. Scout, Director, Network for LGBT Health Equity
At The Fenway Institute, reposted at http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com, http://www.tobaccodeathray.blogspot.com,

A year ago I wrote a HuffPost blog post decrying the apparent stall in LGBT research integration at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Now I'm happy to say NIH is moving forward with good speed on this topic.

Why is NIH integration of LGBT health research important? Because health research is the only way we'll find answers to the persistent health disparities we see across the LGBT population. Why do we smoke cigarettes at rates that are68-percent higher than the general population? Can we do anything to protect against the spike in mental health problems after negative legislation is passed in our states? How can transgender people be assured of welcoming health care? What can be done about the high level of social isolation that LGBT elders report? And what can be done about the horrific LGBT youth suicide rates? If data tells the story of our lives, then research is the first step in writing happier endings.

In 2011, the Institute of Medicine released a historic report, "The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People." In it they reviewed the scientific evidence, identified research gaps, and outlined steps to assist NIH in enhancing its efforts in this area. One of the positive steps NIH has since taken in the last year is to finally release a response to this report... Read the rest here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scout-phd/nih-takes-important-steps-for-lgbt-health_b_3468097.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices