Mental health and sexual minorities in the African Diaspora: Implications on public health practice and social services

Increasingly research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trangendered, questioning, and intersexed (LGBTQI) people of color highlights the need for cultural sensitivity with regard to exploring how sexual orientation and gender are experienced. A paradigmatic approach to research with LGBTQI people of the African Diaspora, particularly those living in developing countries, is presented. The authors' research, as part of the International Sexuality and Mental Health Research Project, focuses on examining the impact of racism and homophobia on mental health amongst Black people in Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and the United States.

The mission of the project is to advance knowledge, improve health and human service practice, and positively contribute to the lives and communities under examination by providing a space for participants to speak to issues that concern them, particularly issues related to oppression and mental health and to advance social justice.

While many social workers and other health professionals have a commitment to aiding oppressed populations, there is limited information available to them on the impact of oppression on mental health. There is even less information on factors that moderate that impact. The research findings will also further the knowledge base about multiple identities and provide information about the relationship between sexual LGBT oppression and mental health among people in the African Diaspora.

The authors will describe their mixed-method study, review preliminary findings, provide lessons learned from research with international LGBTQI communities, describe the role of race and ethnicity, and discuss implications for social policy, public health practice and social services.