LGBTQ Health

Lesbians, gay men, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) persons face numerous disparities and obstacles when maintaining their health and accessing care. We work to better understand their challenges while working with mainstream service delivery systems to improve competence in providing health services to this diverse population that is both welcoming and culturally-specific.

JSI is a founding member of the National Coalition of LGBT Health, and we have conducted numerous studies to learn more about the barriers LGBTQ people face in accessing health services, what they look for when seeking care, and the health disparities documented in the literature.

We provide a range of training and technical assistance to meet LGBTQ health needs. including curricula, online content, and courses to educate providers, policymakers, and consumers. We also conduct needs assessments to help understand specific health concerns related to sexual orientation and gender identity. We do this by leveraging both traditional and innovative solutions such as social media and “snowball” recruiting as a means of locating and engaging harder-to-reach populations.

We promote healthy sexuality through open discourse about sexuality and sexual practices that include safer sex and diverse sexual minority cultures.