Gallup's series on the gay community's well-being and status in the world produced a variety of important findings this week. With insight from guest writer Dr. Gary Gates, a Williams Distinguished Scholar at the Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law, Gallup determined that:
- Seven in 10 Americans (70%) say their city or area is a good place for gay and lesbian people to live, according to a new Gallup World Poll that surveyed 123 countries. The worldwide average was 28%, ranging from 83% in the Netherlands to 1% in Senegal and Pakistan.
- LGBT Americans (17.6%) are more likely than non-LGBT Americans (13.2%) to be without health insurance. While 17% of non-LGBT Americans struggle to pay for healthcare costs, an even higher ratio of one in four of those in the LGBT community (25%) struggle with these same costs. And while LGBT men (29%) are only slightly more likely than their non-LGBT male counterparts (27%) to lack a personal doctor, the disparity between LGBT women (29%) and non-LGBT women (16%) is much greater.
- LGBT Americans fall behind non-LGBT Americans on the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, and in each of the five areas of well-being. The financial and physical components are the areas of well-being where the most drastic differences exist between the two groups. LGBT women, in particular, are least likely to thrive in four of the five components.
Gallup's findings in this series put a spotlight on LGBT women. Nearly three in 10 (29%) women in the LGBT community struggle to afford healthcare costs and do not have a personal doctor. These problems are compounded by the fact that LGBT women fall furthest behind in the physical element -- which is related to alcohol, drug and tobacco consumption, disease burden, exercise and eating habits -- as well as the financial element of well-being, which measures individuals' standard of living, ability to afford basic necessities, and financial worries.
The fact that LGBT women are least likely to thrive financially and physically makes their healthcare dilemmas more complicated. With low physical well-being, LGBT women are particularly vulnerable to health problems. Paired with low financial well-being, they are susceptible to health-related dilemmas that could drain them financially or leave them unable to afford the healthcare they need.
"These disparities associated with sexual orientation and gender identity highlight the ongoing need for the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity measures in data collection focused on health and socio-economic outcomes," said Dr. Gates. "Availability of better data that identify the LGBT population will help researchers, healthcare policymakers, and healthcare providers craft better strategies to understand and prevent well-being disparities associated with sexual orientation and gender identity."