Over 4 million adults in the United States identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual and approximately 700,000 identify as transgender. An NIH-sponsored investigation by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded that the health status and healthcare needs of this sizable population are poorly understood and likely inadequately met. A journal is urgently needed to support, promote, and address the unique healthcare needs of each population that comprises the LGBT community, in the United States and worldwide. LGBT Health, a new peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com) launching in fall 2013, will identify crucial LGBT healthcare needs and the means to address them, providing a much-needed authoritative source and international forum in all areas pertinent to LGBT health and healthcare services.

“President Obama’s commitment to the gay and lesbian communities underscores the importance of providing them with the best healthcare options – both physical health and mental health,” says Mary Ann Liebert, president and CEO of Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

Editor-in-Chief William Byne, MD, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (New York, NY), says “The Journal will assess the healthcare needs of each population that comprises the LGBT community, and identify gaps in knowledge as well as priority areas where policy development and research are needed to achieve healthcare parity for sexual and gender minorities.”

The health status and healthcare needs of the LGBT population are inadequately understood due to both the paucity of LGBT health research and the practice of mistakenly treating the LGBT population as a single entity when each letter stands for a distinct population with unique health vulnerabilities and concerns. Furthermore, the needs of each population are uniquely impacted by factors such as age, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographical region, and the stigma that continues to be associated with sexual or gender minority status.

LGBT Health will promote optimal healthcare for millions of sexual and gender minority persons worldwide by employing a specific focus on their health concerns, while maintaining the breadth needed to fully encompass the relevant biological, psychological, and social facets. LGBT research has been hampered by a lack of funding opportunities and barriers to disclosure of sexual or gender minority status due to stigma and fear of discrimination in the healthcare setting. This promising new Journal will promote greater awareness; encourage further research; improve treatment options, patient care, and outcomes; and foster increased funding in this critical field.

Editor-in-Chief Byne has gathered a distinguished multidisciplinary editorial board of internationally recognized experts with established track records in LGBT health including Bobbie A. Berkowitz, PhD, RN, Columbia University School of Nursing and Senior Vice President of the Columbia University Medical Center; Judith Bradford, PhD, The Fenway Institute (TFI); Demetre Daskalakis, MD, NYU and Gay Men’s Health Crisis; Griet De Cuypere, MD, PhD, University Hospital Ghent, Belgium; Annelou de Vries, MD, PhD, VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam; Brian de Vries, PhD, San Francisco State University; Jack Drescher, MD, President, the Group for Advancement of Psychiatry; A. Evan Eyler, MD, MPH, University of Vermont College of Medicine; Louis Gooren, PhD, VU University Medical Center Amsterdam; Robert Garofalo, MD, MPH, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; Gregory M. Herek, PhD, University of California, Davis; Michael Kauth, PhD and Jillian Shipherd, PhD, LGBT Program Coordinators for Patient Care Services, Department of Veterans Affairs; Ilan Meyer, PhD, Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy, UCLA; Brian Mustanski, PhD, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; Jeffrey T. Parsons, PhD, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, CUNY; Caitlin C. Ryan, PhD, ACSW, San Francisco State University; Patricia Robertson, MD, UCSF; David Sandberg, PhD, University of Michigan; Eric Vilain, MD, PhD, Director, Center for Gender-Based Biology, UCLA; Veriano Terto, MD, PhD, Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association; Sam Winter, PhD, University of Hong Kong; and many more.

Scholarly articles from the relevant perspectives will be solicited, including population studies; basic, translational, and health services research; best practices and policies; professional training and education; and cultural competence in the delivery of healthcare to members of sexual and gender minorities from childhood through the older adult years.

Specific content areas will include healthcare disparities, barriers to healthcare, reproductive health and assisted reproduction, parenting and family concerns, physical and mental well-being, and the health and preventive services appropriate to members of each sexual or gender minority population group. Since the majority of LGBT studies to date have focused on minority communities defined by sexual orientation, research on behalf of populations defined by gender identity and gender variance will be particularly welcomed.