Across the United States and much of the world, LGBTQ+ individuals remain, and in fact are now increasingly invisible in many scientific studies, healthcare databases, and public health data collection systems. This absence, referred to as a “data gap” by researchers and health experts, has profound consequences on marginalized communities. It inhibits evidence-based policymaking, conceals health disparities, and perpetuates the systemic neglect and harm of queer and trans populations. Despite growing awareness of the unique healthcare challenges faced by LGBTQ+ communities, the infrastructure for collecting and analyzing data about these populations remains woefully, and as we are now seeing, often intentionally inadequate.

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