by Emilia Dunham
Network Program Associate
You may recall our report from Creating Change when we mentioned a letter to CDC we were circulating to urge CDC to include LGBT questions on their surveys. At Creating Change we asked folks to sign on to the letter in person and received over 250 signatures! However, before we send the letter, we’d like to offer the opportunity to anyone who wasn’t in Minneapolis that week.
EDIT: A recent blog entry by Scout shows that the Institute of Medicine’s new report urges the need for LGBT data collection.
Dear CDC:
You just released a report on health disparities – what does it say about LGBT health? No data.
At the same time you released $45M
for state data collection. How much went to collecting LGBT data? $0
Please fix this problem. We applaud you for calling for data collection in your disparity report. Now we ask you to follow through and do it. Please make LGBT data collection a routine part of all your health surveys. Our health depends on it.
Sincerely,
You
If you haven’t already done so, please take just a minute to sign on in support of LGBT inclusion. Click here to sign.
Please respond by April 1st, 2011.
***NEW DEADLINE: TUESDAY, MARCH 22ND, 2011*** Signatures will be accepted through April 1st, but may not be time to include in official letter.
Thank you!
The Network
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Published by Emilia Dunham, MPP, MBA
Emilia Dunham is currently a Project Manager at MassHealth/Department of Public Health, and formerly the Project Manager of the Life Skills project at The Fenway Institute, an HIV intervention study for young transgender women. Emilia worked at Fenway for 7 years, first as a Quality Control and Regulatory Assistant mainly involved with biomedical HIV prevention trials, before serving as the Program Associate for The Network for LGBT Health Equity, a network instrumental in many national LGBT health policy improvements. She is also involved with the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, serving as a Steering Committee member and the Policy Committee Co-Chair, an organization largely responsible for the recent passage of the Trans Rights Bill. Additionally she serves as a member of the Massachusetts Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth, Co-Chair of the Recommendations Committee. Emilia received a Bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University. There she served as President of the LGBTQ student group where she planned programs such as Pride Week, Transgender Day of Remembrance, and AIDS Week. In addition, she advocated for LGBTQ inclusive policies and programming on campus such as a Gender Neutral Housing program, an LGBTQ Center and the expansion of Women’s Studies to Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Emilia recently earned a Master of Public Policy and Master of Business Administration in health policy and management from the Brandeis Heller School School for Social Policy and Management.
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Collecting data on LGBTI individuals seems imperative to analyzing disparities in mental & physical health. Rectify this in future studies!
Thanks CC! You’re definitely right. Collecting LGBTI data is needed many areas of LGBT health. That’s some great feedback and you should definitely add it to the online petition if you haven’t already! http://bit.ly/hisiXw
The LGBT demographic group should be respected and treated as a relevant variable in health related survey research.
I have over 20 years of professional experience in the methodology of medical research.
L.B. Erdile, Ph.D.