ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A new statewide assessment of LGBTQ health needs shows access to HIV prevention and mental health services are key needs in the Lehigh Valley.
The Pennsylvania LGBTQ Health Needs Assessment is a biannual survey that evaluates health needs and disparities among LGBTQ people in the state. It included about 300 responses from Lehigh Valley residents out of the 4,228 total responses.
Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center collaborated with other organizations across the state to collect and interpret the data from the survey.
- Bradbury-Sullivan Center presented findings from the Pennsylvania LGBTQ Health Needs Assessment, focusing on responses from Lehigh Valley residents
- The assessment found that key needs for the community include better access to HIV prevention methods and mental health services
- Regional public health and healthcare professionals attended the presentation
Bradbury-Sullivan’s Data and Evaluation Manager Christina Graham presented the data to public health and healthcare professionals from across the region at an event Thursday.
Graham’s presentation focused on responses from Lehigh Valley residents and how they compared with the statewide data.
Lehigh Valley results
According to the presentation, 34% of Lehigh Valley respondents had never been tested for HIV and less than 1 in 40 respondents now take PrEP, an HIV prevention drug.
Statewide, 28% of respondents had never been tested for HIV and 1 in 10 were taking PrEP.
Graham said the Bradbury-Sullivan Center has trained medical professionals on how to have affirming conversations about PrEP. The center also has developed new health promotion campaigns focused on educating community members more about sexual health issues.
The survey also highlighted the prevalence of mental health issues, especially amongst LGBTQ youth in the valley.
About 93% of Lehigh Valley respondents aged 21 and younger reported experiencing a mental health challenge in the past year, compared with 73% of overall respondents in the valley.
Graham said she thinks mental health challenges worsened for all youth during the COVID-19 pandemic, but especially LGBTQ youth.
“When you layer that [the pandemic] on top of the high burden that LGBTQ community folks sometimes already have — having a hard time accessing affirming providers, the experience of discrimination, the lack of support that they may have from their family of origin — it's just compounding issues,” Graham said.
The assessment also showed that more than half of Lehigh Valley respondents said they have experienced discrimination based on their LGBTQ identity.
More than 40% of Lehigh Valley respondents had not enough or just enough money to make ends meet, about 26% often or sometimes worried their food would run out before they got money to buy more and about 20% have experienced homelessness.
Graham said some of the results of the survey indicated progress. The number of uninsured Lehigh Valley respondents has decreased over the past few assessments, and about 95% of Lehigh Valley respondents were fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
How is the data used?
Graham said healthcare providers in the Lehigh Valley and beyond can use the data to inform how their programs and practices can better serve the needs of the LGBTQ community.
St. Luke's University Health Network Vice President of Community Health Rajika Reed attended the presentation. She said her organization uses the data to figure out how to better serve the LGBTQ community.
"It's wonderful to have an assessment just geared at a vulnerable segment of the community," Reed said. "It helps us figure out how to better serve their needs."
“It reaches what I would call the ‘boots on the ground’ level: people doing everyday work in the community are using it to guide what they provide."Christina Graham, Bradbury-Sullivan’s Data and Evaluation Manager
Graham said Bradbury-Sullivan uses the data, as well.
“We frequently use this data to say, ‘What programs do we not have that we could be implementing in the next year?’” Graham said.
Graham said that's the way many community-based organizations across the state use the data. She said she helps organizations isolate responses from specific areas or demographics to better understand their needs.
“It reaches what I would call the ‘boots on the ground’ level: people doing everyday work in the community are using it to guide what they provide,” Graham said.
Graham said larger institutions, such as the American Lung Association and the Pennsylvania Cancer Association, also use the data from the assessment.
About the assessment
The Pennsylvania LGBTQ Health Needs Assessment collects data on healthcare experiences, nutrition, exercise, tobacco use, drug and alcohol use, sexual health, mental health and food and housing security.
It is funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
More than 30 LGBTQ organizations across the state worked to promote participation in the survey, and others helped without being official partners, Graham said.
The full statewide report can be found here.
