MGH Guides: LGBTQIA+ Resources: Research Resources

All of Us Research Opportunities
The All of Us Research Program is building a dataset to help transform the future of health research by equipping researchers with expansive health data from diverse populations, especially those underrepresented in biomedical research. More than 11,600 health researchers are leveraging this one-of-a-kind dataset to improve understanding of health and disease, identify opportunities to reduce disparities, and enable more precise approaches to care.
Healthy People 2030 - LGBT
Goal: Improve the health, safety, and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
LGBT+ People’s Health Status and Access to Care
The share of people in the United States who identifies as LGBT+ has increased substantially in recent years, particularly among younger generations, yet health disparities and health access-related challenges persist across multiple dimensions. Understanding the health care needs and experiences of the more than 7% of LGBT+-identified people in the United States, including the one-in-five younger adults from Generation Z, is important for addressing barriers and facilitating access to care and coverage.
National Coalition for LGBTQ Health - State of LGBTQ Health
The National Coalition for LGBTQ Health administered the State of LGBTQ Health™ Second Annual National Survey to identify the “state of” healthcare for LGBTQ communities. The survey’s insights will be used to optimize the education and training of the LGBTQ healthcare workforce, and to better inform LGBTQ health advocacy, education, research, and training activities.
SAMHSA Releases New Data on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Behavioral Health
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today released a new data report Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Behavioral Health: Results from the 2021 and 2022 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (PDF | 2.1 MB), indicating that lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults are more likely than straight adults to use substances, experience mental health conditions including major depressive episodes, and experience serious thoughts of suicide.
The Trevor Project: 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health
Capturing the experiences of nearly 34,000 LGBTQ youth ages 13 to 24 across the United States, with 45% of respondents being LGBTQ youth of color and 48% being transgender or nonbinary, our fourth annual national survey is one of the most diverse surveys of LGBTQ youth ever conducted.

Search Filters/Hedges

Search filters (aka search hedges) are pre-drafted lists of terms to help create a focused search strategy. They’re here to help you save time and energy. Simply copy and paste these terms into your search strategy.

Below is an example of a search filter for LGBTQIA+ communities in different databases:

PubMed: (“bisexuality”[mesh] OR “health services for transgender persons”[mesh] OR “homosexuality”[mesh] OR “homosexuality, male”[mesh] OR “homosexuality, female”[mesh] OR “intersex persons”[mesh] OR “sexual and gender minorities”[mesh] OR “transgender persons”[mesh] OR “transsexualism”[mesh])
Keywords: (agender* OR allosexual* OR androgyn* OR androsexual* OR asexual* OR bigender* OR bisexual* OR cis OR cisgender* OR cismale OR cisfemale OR demisexual* OR f2m OR FTM OR f to m OR female to male OR gay OR gender minorit* OR gender nonconforming OR gender minority OR gynosexual* OR hermaphrod* OR homosexual* OR intergender* OR inter gender* OR intersex* OR LBG OR LBGT OR LBGTQ OR LBGTQIA OR LGB OR LGBT OR LBGTQ OR LBGTQIA OR lesbian* OR m2f OR MTF OR M to F OR male to female OR monoamorous OR monosexual* OR nonbinary OR non binary OR pangender* OR pansexual* OR polyamorous OR polysexual* OR queer* OR sexual minorit* OR trans OR transgender* OR transsexual* OR trans gender OR transmasculin* OR transfeminin* OR trans sexual* OR trans masculin* OR trans feminin*)

This LGBTQ Search Filter was created by Carrie Price, MLIS.

Alternatively, you can try any combination of the following in PubMed:

LGBTQ+: ("bisexuality"[Mesh] OR "homosexuality"[Mesh] OR gay*[tiab] OR lesbian*[tiab] OR bisexual*[tiab] OR homosexual*[tiab] OR same sex[tiab] OR same gender[tiab] OR sexual minorit*[tiab] OR transgender*[tiab] OR transsexual*[tiab] OR MSM[tiab] OR men who have sex with men[tiab] OR "transgender persons"[Mesh] OR "sex reassignment surgery"[Mesh] OR "sex reassignment procedures"[Mesh:noexp] OR "health services for transgender persons"[Mesh] OR "homosexuality, female"[Mesh] OR lesbian*[tiab])
Bisexual: (bisexual*[tiab] OR “bisexuality”[mesh])
Women who have sex with Women (WSW): “homosexuality, female"[Mesh] OR lesbian*[tiab]
Men who have sex with Men (MSM): MSM[tiab] OR gay[tiab] OR homosexual*[tiab] OR "homosexuality"[Mesh:noexp] OR "homosexuality, male"[Mesh] OR men who have sex with men[tiab]
Trans* : (transsexualism[Mesh] OR "gender identity"[Mesh:noexp] OR "transgender persons"[Mesh] OR "sex reassignment surgery"[Mesh] OR "sex reassignment procedures"[Mesh:noexp] OR "health services for transgender persons"[Mesh] OR transgender*[tiab] OR transsexual*[tiab] OR "gender identity"[tiab] OR "male-to-female"[tiab] OR "female-to-male"[tiab] OR "sex reassignment"[tiab] OR "gender dysphoria"[tiab] OR "trans men"[tiab] OR cross gender*[tiab] OR "gender reassignment"[tiab] OR "trans people"[tiab] OR "gender change"[tiab] OR "gender transition"[tiab] OR "trans female"[tiab] OR "trans women"[tiab])

This LGBTQ Search Filter was created by: Parker RMN, Wanner A, Foster M, Lackey M. Design and validation of a search filter for LGBTQ+ populations. Abstracts of the 25th Cochrane Colloquium, Edinburgh, UK. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2018;(9 Suppl 1). https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD201801. SEE ALSO https://colloquium2018.cochrane.org/abstracts/design-and-validation-search-filter-lgbtq-populations

Please note, occasionally outdated and potentially offensive terminology may be used in search hedges. These terms are included to ensure that the widest array of research can be found; older research may use terms that we no longer use today.