Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and TransgenderedHealth Science Librarians
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered
Monday, May 5, 2003 from 3:30 P.M. - 5:00 P.M.
Sponsors: Public Health/Health Administration, Dental, International Cooperation, Consumer and Patient Health Information, and Relevant Issues Sections and the Outreach; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Health Sciences Librarian; and African American Medical Librarians Alliance Special Interest Groups.
Title: Caught in the Whirlpool: Information Needs of and Outreach Services for At-Risk and Underserved Consumer Populations
Program Description: Many special consumer groups are at risk for various health problems due to social, economic, and behavioral factors. In many cases, these populations who have the greatest need for quality health information are the most difficult to reach. How do we design services to reach these populations? What do we know about what information they need? Speakers will discuss topics such as health information for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered youth; immigrants and non-English speaking users; migrant workers; and low socioeconomic status, low-literacy, rural, or inner-city populations.
LGBT SIG Sponsored Speaker: Garth Meckler, MD, is a clinical research fellow at the UCLA / RAND Center for Adolescent Health Promotion, working with Mark Schuster and others on vulnerable adolescent populations. He graduated from Harvard Medical School and trained in pediatrics at the Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, Washington where he began to work with GLBT youth through a network of free teen clinics. After completing his training, he moved briefly to Los Angeles to work with Dr. Drew Pinski (of "Love Line" fame) as the health editor for his teen-targeted website; while there, he collaborated with the Kinsey Institute as well as the department of adolescent medicine at CHLA / USC, and moderated online discussions of GLBT health. Thereafter, he returned to Boston where he was appointed Clinical Instructor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and taught pediatrics and adolescent health - including GLBT health - to family practice residents at the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center. In July of last year, he joined Mark Schuster, MD, PhD, and his staff at UCLA / RAND. He has worked with Dr. Schuster on several projects and wrote the Center's pamphlet on sexual orientation for parents participating in the Worksite Parenting Study. He also served as a panelist for the UCLA School of Medicine / School of Public Health GLBT Health Forum. His current research interests include resilience among sexual minority youth and he hopes to work with the Los Angeles Unified School District Project 10 program.
Dr. Meckler will give a presentation on the health information needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered youth, their families, and their health care providers. The talk will focus largely on LGBT youth and their health information needs. Dr. Meckler plans to provide some background information on the process of sexual identity formation, and how this fits into the more general framework of adolescent sexuality. He will review the health care needs specific to this population, highlighting disparities in quality information and services available to LGBT youth and discuss the role of stigma, both generally and among health care providers, in furthering these disparities. The importance of accurate, unbiased information will be stressed and challenges to accessing and disseminating such information considered. In particular, the potential and pitfalls of the Internet will serve as the primary example, but Dr. Meckler will discuss other media and recommended resources, as well.
Presentation Slides (Microsoft PowerPoint format)Notes: The program was supported by a donation from Haworth Press. The session was well attended with 50+ attendees.
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