Preventative Health Measures for Lesbian & Bisexual Women

edited by Shelly Kerr and Robin Mathy

The lack of information about lesbian and bisexual women’s health can in part be attributed to the lack of health research focused on this population. Preventive Health Measures for Lesbian and Bisexual Women helps fill this gap by providing the latest empirical, evidence-based research to address current health care issues confronted by sexual minority women (SMW). This vital source explores several diverse factors constraining the ability of lesbian and bisexual women of color to receive proper health care and exercise preventative health measures including discrimination, oppression, and stigmatization.

The reasons behind several SMW health risks are psychosocial and behavioral factors often not considered by health practitioners. Preventive Health Measures for Lesbian and Bisexual Women examines these factors in detail and provides a firm starting point for further research and ways to best address the challenges. Studies on SMW behavior and perceptions reveal how lesbians and bisexual women make choices on various vital health issues such as alcohol use, nutrition, weight management, exercise, safer sex practices, sunscreen use, and self-breast examination. The research in this book is of the highest quality, the discussions on the findings top-notch, and the conclusions important for every policymaker, health practitioner, and researcher to understand.

Research topics in Preventive Health Measures for Lesbian and Bisexual Women include:

• the effects of lesbian or bisexual identity on preventative health behaviors
• cancer prevention and screening behaviors using American Cancer Society guidelines as the standards for comparison
• experiences with treating physicians and their attitudes—positive and negative
• ways to help lesbians with cancer receive better support by service providers and lesbian communities
• comparison between lesbian and heterosexual women of psychosocial responses to treatment for breast cancer
• qualitative study on lesbians who frequent bars
• characteristics of sexual minority women across four survey sampling methods
  

Preventive Health Measures for Lesbian and Bisexual Women is timely, crucial information for health practitioners of all types, women’s activists, public health professionals, and researchers.