Optimizing Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescent Health: Putting Evidence into Practice

Adolescents who identify as sexual and gender minorities (SGM) are at higher risk for adverse health outcomes compared to their cisgender and heterosexual counterparts (Cafferty et al., 2020; Stern, 2021). SGM adolescents are faced with stigma, homophobia, and heterosexism daily (Cafferty et al., 2020; Dowshen& Ford, 2019; Hagan et al., 2017; Shattuck et al., 2020). They are also more likely to: (1) engage in high-risk sexual activities, (2) self-medicate with illegal drugs, (3) attempt suicide, and defer healthcare (Boswell et al., 2019; Cafferty et al., 2020; Stern, 2021).
Source: Journal of Pediatric Health Care - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Evidence-Based Practice Source Type: research