ABSTRACT
Improving the health of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) residents and reducing health disparities calls for public health actions at all levels. Since 1998, Hennepin County Public Health has been systematically monitoring health status and documenting the disparities of residents’ health, including residents of the LGBT community, to inform meaningful public health policy and programs. In this chapter, we discuss the importance of the public health surveillance effort in LGBT health, describe SHAPE (Survey of the Health of Adults, the Population, and the Environment) project, and utilize the SHAPE data to (1) describe LGBT health and disparities, and (2) understand perceived discrimination among LGBT residents and its impact on health and health access of LGBT residents and (3) explain policies that focus on ending health disparities and on the improving the lives of our LGBT residents. The results revealed not only the significant disparities in health status between LGBT residents and non-LGBT residents, but also showed stark connection between discrimination and negative health outcomes within the LGBT community. Using this study, we discuss how policymakers, non-profit organizations, and other sectors of our community can create better policies and interventions to improve the lives of our LGBT residents.
