The Children’s Safety Network (CSN) is addressing suicide prevention and bullying awareness in the upcoming webinar on youth data for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, or another non-heterosexual identity (LGBTQ+) . LGBTQ+ youth experience persistent disparities. According to the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), LGBTQ+ youth are more likely to experience bullying, suicidal ideation, and suicidal attempts than their peers (CDC, 2024). Due to changing environments states and jurisdictions face, gathering and utilizing data on LGBTQ+ youth for prevention purposes has become increasingly more difficult. Please join the Children’s Safety Network on Wednesday, November 20th from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM ET to learn more about LGBTQ+ Youth Data from YRBS and the Trevor Project’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People, specifically focusing on suicide and self-harm prevention and bullying prevention.
Nicolas Suarez, a health scientist at the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health, and Dr. Ronita Nath, Vice President of Research at The Trevor Project, will present on data on LGBTQ+ youth. Dr. Alex Keuroghlian, Director of the Division of Education and Training at The Fenway Institute and Children’s Safety Now Alliance member, will moderate the webinar.
Note: CSN is using the term LGBTQ+, per the CDC’s definition in YRBS, to mean lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, or another non-heterosexual identity. CSN has also used the term LGBQ+ youth to mean lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning, or other non-heterosexual identity based on data available for analysis in infographics and fact sheets. The exclusion of transgender youth was based on a lack of data on transgender youth. See additional CSN resources here: https://www.childrenssafetynetwork.org/resources/injury-violence-disparities-between-lgbq-heterosexual-youth-resources
References:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024). Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2013–2023 U S Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/yrbs/dstr/index.html
The Trevor Project. (2024). 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2024/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024). MMWR, October 10, 2024. Vol. 73, No. 4. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/su/pdfs/su7304-H.pdf
Presenters:
Nicolas Suarez (he/him) is a health scientist with the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) where he leads the DASH research portfolio on creating safe and supportive school environments. His research focuses on LGBTQ+ inclusive practices in schools and the benefits of these practices on the health, wellbeing, and safety of both students with LGTBQ+ identities and the general student body. In light of the disparities in suicide-related outcomes, experiences of violence, and poor mental health faced by transgender students, he is committed to researching strategies that advance health equity for transgender and gender diverse young people. Nick received his Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan with a focus on health behavior and health education.
Dr. Ronita Nath (she/her) is the Vice President of Research at The Trevor Project, where she leads the organization's research endeavors on the mental health of LGBTQ+ young people. Her expertise lies in LGBTQ+ health, research methodology, sexually transmitted infections, and adolescent health, with a particular focus on the intersections of race and ethnicity. Formerly, Dr. Nath was the Managing Director at the University of British Columbia's Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Centre, overseeing national and provincial-wide studies on the effects of stigma, violence, and trauma on LGBTQ+ youth health. Prior to her role at UBC, she was a James Kreppner CTN Postdoctoral Fellow at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, where her research sought to understand the factors contributing to the province's syphilis epidemic.
Moderator
Alex Keuroghlian, MD, MPH (any pronouns) works as a clinical psychiatrist within the Behavioral Health Department and undertakes research at The Fenway Institute. They are Director of the Division of Education and Training at The Fenway Institute; Michele and Howard J Kessler Chair and Director, Division of Public and Community Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH); Associate Chief, Public and Community Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry; and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School (HMS). They are principal investigator of the National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center, a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funded cooperative agreement to improve health care for LGBTQIA+ people at health centers. Dr. Keuroghlian is concurrently principal investigator of the 2iS Coordinating Center for Technical Assistance, also funded by HRSA, to implement innovative intervention strategies nationally for people with HIV in four priority areas: substance use disorders, LGBTQIA+ youth, incarceration and telehealth. They received their medical degree and Masters in Neurosciences from the Stanford University School of Medicine. They completed their psychiatry residency at the MGH/McLean Hospital training program, where they served as Chief Resident in Public and Community Psychiatry, and a Master of Public Health (Health Policy and Management) at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.