Karina Walters, MSW, PhD, said succinctly at Wednesday's first annual Lesbian Health Institute that, "It's not about coming out; it's about becoming what we've always been."
Walters was speaking to an audience at the pre-conference session to the 24th annual Gay and Lesbian Medical Association's (GLMA) conference. She was one of eight presenters who created "a defining moment for lesbian health," according to Diane Sabin, executive director of the Lesbian Health & Research Center at UCSF.
"We were invigorated by the collective presence of world class researchers, clinicians, and community leaders as well as high-placed representatives from the government and foundation world," she said. "The Lesbian Health & Research Center is now positioned to work collaboratively to achieve the goals identified in the Institute of Medicine report (IOM) so that our community is no longer 'overlooked and underserved.'"
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Dawn Harbatkin, medical and executive director of Lyon-Martin, Diane Sabin, executive director of the LHRC, Judith Bradford, Researcher of the Year honoree, and Marj Plumb, women's health consultant. |
Institute of Medicine Report Provided Goals and Foundation for Presentations
According to the IOM report, recommended goals were to gain knowledge that is useful for improving the health status and health care of lesbians, confirm beliefs and counter misconceptions that exist about health risk to lesbians and to identify health areas in which lesbians are at risk or tend to be at greater risk than heterosexual women.
With the IOM Report as the foundation, presentations included a look at the increase of smoking and alcohol consumption in lesbian and bisexual women and the quality of life and adjustment for LGBT cancer survivors. Presentations based on local and national surveys gave new insight on lesbian sexual functioning, along with comparisons of same-sex couples who were married in Massachusetts, had domestic partnerships in California, or had civil unions in Vermont.
The half-day Lesbian Health Institute was made possible through funding provided by the California Endowment, the Dorian Fund, Folsom Street Events, Fountaingrove Lodge and the Horizons Foundation. While the annual GLMA conference has had long-running success in its presentation of health issues for gay men, it has only been recently that lesbian health issues have been able to use this platform to address health professionals.
Researcher of the Year Honors for Bradford and Ryan
Judith Bradford, PhD, director of the Virginia Commonwealth University's Survey and Evaluation Research Laboratory and Caitlyn Ryan, PhD, MSW, director of Adolescent Health Initiatives at Cesar Chavez Institute at San Francisco State University were awarded Researcher of the Year honors for their on-going work defining the field of lesbian health.
Bradford, who has conducted research in sexual and gender minority health since 1986, has worked on the national level for more than 20 years to improve the methodological soundness of LGBT research. Ryan, an acclaimed activist and researcher, established the first large scale survey of lesbian health. She was elemental in creating, and continues to be a leader in, the national network of lesbian and gay health and mental health providers.
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Patricia Robertson, Ellen Haller, Diane Sabin, Sue Dibble and Lisabeth Castro-Smyth. |
"This was a great opportunity to publicly honor the ground-breaking research done by two giants in the field," said Ellen Haller, MD, co-director of the LHRC and UCSF adjunct professor of psychiatry. "Dr. Bradford has made significant contributions to lesbian health research and the work of Dr. Ryan has really paved the way towards social and economic justice."
Diversity, Commitment and Wide-ranging Work Provide Inspiration and Connection
During the conference, Haller and Patty Robertson, MD, the emcees of the proceedings, asked the audience to introduce themselves. As the premier researchers in lesbian health described the work they were doing, Haller was heartened by the diversity, the commitment by the individuals and by the range of work that is going on from places such as Michigan, Houston, Los Angeles, Columbus, Baltimore, Seattle and even New Zealand.
"It was an inspiring day for all of us," said Haller. "We saw researchers in lesbian health spend an afternoon together where we were educated on cutting-edge research, heard from each other about areas of interest and ongoing research projects, advised each other on research methodology and commiserated with each other about funding challenges. For those attendees working in isolation at their home institutions, this afternoon was affirming of the importance of their work and reminded them that they are not working alone."
Related Links
UCSF Lesbian Health & Research Center
24th Annual Conference of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
National Coming Out Day Shines Spotlight on UCSF Lesbian Health & Research Center
UCSF Today, October 9, 2006
Lesbian Health Institute to Take Place as Part of Annual GLMA Conference
UCSF News Release, September 14, 2006
UCSF Opens Lesbian Health Research Center
UCSF News Release, January 12, 2000
