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. 2021 Sep;111(9):1620-1626.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2021.306277. Epub 2021 Jun 10.

Structural Transphobia, Homophobia, and Biphobia in Public Health Practice: The Example of COVID-19 Surveillance

Randall L Sell  1 , Elise I Krims  1
Affiliations

Structural Transphobia, Homophobia, and Biphobia in Public Health Practice: The Example of COVID-19 Surveillance

Randall L Sell et al. Am J Public Health. 2021 Sep.

Abstract

Public health surveillance can have profound impacts on the health of populations, with COVID-19 surveillance offering an illuminating example. Surveillance surrounding COVID-19 testing, confirmed cases, and deaths has provided essential information to public health professionals about how to minimize morbidity and mortality. In the United States, surveillance has also pointed out how populations, on the basis of geography, age, and race and ethnicity, are being impacted disproportionately, allowing targeted intervention and evaluation. However, COVID-19 surveillance has also highlighted how the public health surveillance system fails some communities, including sexual and gender minorities. This failure has come about because of the haphazard and disorganized way disease reporting data are collected, analyzed, and reported in the United States, and the structural homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia acting within these systems. We provide recommendations for addressing these concerns after examining experiences collecting race data in COVID-19 surveillance and attempts in Pennsylvania and California to incorporate sexual orientation and gender identity variables into their pandemic surveillance efforts.

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Comment in

  • The Need for COVID-19 LGBTQ-Specific Data.
    Bowleg L, Landers S. Bowleg L, et al. Am J Public Health. 2021 Sep;111(9):1604-1605. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2021.306463. Epub 2021 Aug 26. Am J Public Health. 2021. PMID: 34436923 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

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