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Trump Administration's Efforts to Erase LGBTQ+ Data Worsen Health Crises

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Decades of research have shown that health problems disproportionately affect some groups, including LGBTQ+ individuals. The Trump administration's efforts to erase data on sexual orientation and gender identity from public health records are making health crises worse, particularly in areas like suicide prevention. By deleting these data, the administration is undermining the ability of public health professionals to identify and address health disparities that affect not just specific communities but society as a whole.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Trump administration has targeted public health efforts to gather information about sexual orientation and gender identity, deleting data and documents from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's webpages.
  • Without data on sexual orientation and gender identity, public health cannot identify health disparities that disproportionately affect LGBTQ+ individuals, including higher rates of death from all causes and suicide.
  • Research has consistently shown that LGBTQ+ individuals experience higher rates of death from all causes and suicide compared to the general population.
  • The costs of lost productivity and medical services related to suicide deaths in the US are estimated at $484 billion per year.
  • LGBTQ+ people are not just a private group but also a diverse community that includes over 24.4 million adults in the US, living in every state and playing important roles in their communities.
  • Stopping data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity weakens American public health and undermines the ability of public health professionals to identify and address health disparities.
  • Data collection is essential to understanding health disparities and identifying effective interventions to address them.

Statistics:

  • 24.4 million adults in the US identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) (The Conversation).
  • LGBTQ+ individuals experience higher rates of death from all causes, with nearly all studies documenting greater rates of death from all causes compared to the general population.
  • Suicide deaths are more frequent among LGBTQ+ individuals, with majority of studies reporting higher rates of suicide deaths.
  • The estimated annual costs of lost productivity and medical services related to suicide deaths in the US is $484 billion (John R. Blosnich).
  • Over 135 people are directly affected by each suicide death, experiencing grief, sadness, and anger (John R. Blosnich).

Sources:

  • John R. Blosnich (2023) Data on sexual orientation and gender is critical to public health -- without it, health crises continue unnoticed -- The Conversation -- USA -- Refers to: https://theconversation.com/data-on-sexual-orientation-and-gender-is-critical-to-public-health-without-it-health-crises-continue-unnoticed-255380.
  • John R. Blosnich is affiliated with the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) however all time and effort into writing this piece was done outside of his work with the VA.

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