Presenter: Jillian Parisi, Public Health Science, Global Public Health Scholars
Over the summer and fall semester, I volunteered as a research assistant in a social science lab at the University of Maryland School of Public Health in the Family Science Department focused on sexual orientation, gender identity and health (SOGI). I was responsible for organizing relevant variables from the codebooks of surveys including the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and formatting transcripts of conversations on Q Chat Space, an online live chat service for LGBTQ+ teens. Although I assisted with various projects, the project I primarily worked on is an international study focused on LGBTQ+ teens’ mental health where I created Microsoft Excel spreadsheets of variables of interest from various surveys that may be important as the study progresses. Studies surrounding LGBTQ+ teens’ mental health are not of great abundance, so the research taking place in the University of Maryland SOGI Lab will hopefully help to bring more awareness to LGBTQ+ health in the future.
What kind of interventions could be effective in addressing this disparity? Has this research changed your thinking or perspective about public health in any way?
This was a very interesting presentation and it is too bad the funding got halted. However, if you had to hypothesize, what do you think are the biggest reasons for disparities between LGB and heterosexual pregnancy health?
Is the population of LGBTQ+ women you conducted your research on from the United States or around the world, and how do you think this would account for the health disparities these women face?