SBU Survey Finds 24% In LI LGBTQ+ Community Study Contemplated Suicide

STONY BROOK, NY — About 24 percent of the 1,150 respondents in a study of Long Island's LGBTQ+ community contemplated suicide within the past three years, and about a third of them thought about self-harm, Stony Brook University officials said Friday.

About 50 percent rated themselves as being in fair to poor mental health, according to key findings of Stony Brook's 2021 LGBTQ+ health needs survey released in recognition of Tuesday as National Coming Out Day, which raises awareness of individuals who identify in the LGBTQ+ community.

The online study included adults 18 years or older who lived in Nassau or Suffolk counties or attended school there. It launched in June 2021 during Pride Month and concluded Sept. 30, 2021.

Officials said that over one-third of study participants indicated they experienced moderate to severe anxiety and/or depression and that the demographic groups, such as transgender people, respondents who are gender-nonconforming, low income, young adult, Black, and Asian, reported experiencing an even higher prevalence of behavioral health concerns, including intentional self-harm.

The survey was a collaboration between Stony Brook Medicine with over 30 Long Island-based organizations and community leaders who reach Long Island’s diverse LGBTQ+ community through advocacy and providing programs and services.

Partners in the study included ranged from artists to advocates and community organizations, as well as anti-bias task force groups and government agencies.

Officials said the need for the LGBTQ+ Health Needs Survey "became clear" as Stony Brook began planning, with Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, for the expansion of the Edie Windsor Healthcare Center to better serve the healthcare needs of the LGBTQ+ community.

The mission of the center, which is located in Hampton Bays, is to provide compassionate and quality healthcare to the LGBTQ+ community in "a culturally sensitive, safe environment," officials said.

Principal investigator of the study, Dr. Allison H. Eliscu, who serves as the medical director of the Adolescent LGBTQ+ Care Program at Stony Brook Medicine, said the top three issues cited by the survey’s respondents were access to behavioral health resources, training healthcare providers about LGBTQ+ health needs, and access to health insurance that addresses LGBTQ+ needs.

“Respondents also cited violence, bullying, and harassment as critical issues facing the community,” she said.

Dr. Harold Paz, executive vice president of Health Sciences and chief executive officer of Stony Brook University Medicine, said that "quantitative information on the healthcare needs of LGBTQ+ persons is severely limited both regionally and nationally."

“This study provides vital data that can shape the future of LGBTQ+ healthcare in Nassau and Suffolk Counties,” he added.

Robert Chaloner, chief administrative officer of Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, which along with Stony Brook Medicine, oversees the Edie Windsor Healthcare Center which provides LGBTQ+ healthcare services, as well as HIV/AIDs treatment and prevention services, said the LGBTQ+ Health Needs Survey findings give voice to members of Long Island’s LGBTQ+ community about their healthcare experiences and challenges.”

“These insights are critical to Long Island’s healthcare and social service providers, government officials, and public health workers in their efforts to expand and improve programs and advocacy efforts,” he said.

Suffolk Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Piggott called the island’s LGBTQ+ community "diverse."

"This survey’s findings provide detailed analysis of the respondents’ healthcare experiences, challenges and concerns, and great insight into the intersectionality of sexual orientation, gender identity, race, ethnicity, and income status," he said. "These insights provide a foundation to better understand and serve the LGBTQ+ community, moving towards health equity.”

Stony Brook is now rolling out a multi-faceted effort to respond to the key findings. Those efforts include:

Clinical and support services:

• The distributing of a Directory of Stony Brook Medicine LGBTQ+ Care Providers, which is available in print and online at https://www.stonybrookmedicine.edu/LGBTQ.
• Private mammography screenings by a mobile mammography unit with staff trained in LGBTQ+ cultural sensitivity.
• The expansion of LGBTQ+ cultural sensitivity training for health providers, medical trainees, and community-based organizations.
• The expansion of behavioral health support group offerings for adolescents and young adults.
• The usage of data to support funding requests for expanded addiction treatment and prevention services and mental health services.
• The Expansion of access and promotion of pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV transmission.
• A multidisciplinary adolescent gender-affirming care clinic.

Training for regional healthcare staff, students, and trainees:

• The expansion of sensitivity training across the entire healthcare system.
• The addition of LGBTQ+material to the medical student and residents' curricula.

Research:

• Providing access to data sets for partners and other organizations.
• The creation of a plan to publish community data and then share it with other professionals at professional meetings.

Community Engagement and Collaboration:

• Sponsoring family-friendly events, like the Oct. 11 Coming Out Day Celebration at the Suffolk County Farm in Yaphank and the first-ever Pride Parade in East Hampton.

Stony Brook Medicine and The Edie Windsor Healthcare Center have:

• Operated as the East End’s monkeypox vaccination site, administering over 2000 vaccinations.
• Expanded Sexually Transmitted Disease counseling and testing services, including providing support for those unable to pay.
• Received a grant, along with community partner LI for Youth, to expand counseling services for LGBTQ+ young people.
• Increased mental health counseling services with an on-site Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
• Led a hospital-wide campaign to train patient-facing staff to ask patients for the name and pronoun preference they use.

Editor's note: If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, help is always available 24/7 by calling the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988.