The power to influence health policy

Anthony Silvestre, Associate Professor, Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA ;

Librarians and professional library associations have had major impacts on the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and on the development of health policies. In some cases, decisions by individual librarians have made a substantial difference in the lives of LGBT people. Additionally, the formal support of the profession of the early LGBT movement provided credibility and resources when they were most difficult to get. This support continues in the face of ongoing political pressure. The recent congressional investigation of NIH’s support of HIV and LGBT health research is the most recent and most publicized example of inappropriate political interference in the research process. The resulting dearth of LGBT research has negatively affected efforts to affect LGBT health policies and programs. The barriers to LGBT research arise from the lack of federal funding, inadequate resources to deal with all health disparities, the relative silence of our associations and schools, and lack of political will. The development of Healthy People 2010 and the Healthy People 2010 Companion Document for Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Health illustrates the impact of politics on LGBT health policies. As such, it sheds light on the practical steps that can be taken to improve health policy in the future. Librarians and their colleagues in the wider research community have the power to make a difference in health policy.

Anthony J. Silvestre, Ph.D., LSW is an Associate Professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Silvestre has worked to lessen health disparities based on sexual orientation and gender identity since the early 1970s when he served as Chairperson of the Pennsylvania Governor’s Council for Sexual Minorities, the first governmental body ever formed to end discrimination based on sexual orientation. More recently, he has served as a past president of the Caucus of LGBT Public Health Workers in relations with the American Public Health Association. He also served as an editor and co-author of the “Healthy People 2010 Companion Document for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health.”