Clinical Trials Guidelines & Tools
Sexual minority health is an emerging field and the health issues specific to lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer (LBTQ) people are gaining more recognition. But significant knowledge gaps exist that warrant additional scientific study and consideration.
What You Can Do
These gaps can be addressed by ensuring routine LBTQ inclusion in demographic data gathered by researchers. We encourage all researchers to collect sexual orientation and gender identity data as part of their research protocols.
Recommended Assessment Item
Given the US Census Bureau’s successful use of a single “choose all” item to collect race and ethnicity data, we recommend including the following question to access both sexual orientation and gender identity via self-report. This item has undergone cognitive testing by the National LGBT Tobacco Control Network and is suitable for general population studies.
Caveats & Nuances
This item is recommended for general population research (i.e. non-LBTQ) and is intended to differentiate sexual and gender minority sub-groups from majority groups. Analysis plans may vary depending on the research question and context.
Usage Tip:
In face-to-face or phone interviews, reading the letter that corresponds to each answer option allows respondents to answer by letter if they’re reluctant to repeat the full answer.
Do you consider yourself to be one or more of the following:
- Straight (heterosexual)
- Gay
- Lesbian
- Bisexual
- Transgender
Don’t know
(No answer)[If respondents pause, refuse or don’t know, also say: “You can name a different category if that fits you better”]
Guidance on Inclusive Language
The American Psychological Association’s style guide includes a section entitled “Reducing Bias in Language” that provides guidelines and specifically discusses sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, age and disabilities. For more detailed information, please consult the online APA guide “Avoiding Heterosexual Bias in Language”.
