NEW YORK — Mary Ann Liebert Inc., publishers has published the preview issue of LGBT Health, a new peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting optimal health care for millions of sexual and gender minority persons worldwide. The journal provides a valuable forum for members of the research, medical and advocacy communities to present and discuss the latest research findings and critical issues related to all aspects of the health and health care of sexual orientation and gender identity minorities. LGBT Health is published online with Open Access options and in print. The preview issue is available free on the LGBT Health Web site.
“This is a historical moment for LGBT health care,” says Editor-in-Chief William Byne, MD, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (New York, NY) in his editorial “A New Era for LGBT Health.” “Increased recognition of LGBT health disparities together with recent progressive developments have created an extraordinary window of opportunity to profoundly lower the barriers to health care for LGBT-identified persons, to research the most important health concerns and needs of specific LGBT populations, and to train clinicians in the best practices to meet those needs. We must act now to ensure that this window of opportunity does not close but opens into a new era for LGBT health around the globe.”
The preview issue includes an interview with Leonard Harvey, MD, MBA, senior medical director of Aetna, Southern California, which focuses on insurance issues that are especially important for LGBT individuals. In “LG(BT) Persons in the Second Half of Life: The Intersectional Influences of Stigma and Cohort,” Brian de Vries, PhD, San Francisco State University, reviews the issues faced by aging LGBT individuals in terms of health, social support, and other needs. Nils Daulaire, MD, MPH, Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, presents the global scope of LGBT health issues and emphasizes the role of the World Health Organization, the health arm of the United Nations, in his article “The Importance of LGBT Health on a Global Scale.” The full table of contents of the preview issue is available on the LGBT Health Web site.
The full inaugural issue of the Journal, publishing in September 2013 and launching at the GLMA conference in Denver, Colo., will feature a wide range of articles and topic areas aimed at clarifying LGBT health needs, defining clinical and educational best practices, identifying means to increase access to care, and educating and empowering medical consumers.
