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accessHealthNews.net
February 2024
Volume 10 | Issue No. 80
As part of its mission to aid Kansas' rural
and medically underserved communities
in building sustainable access to quality
primary care, the Kansas Department of
Health and Environment Office of Primary
Care & Rural Health hosted a webinar
entitled "Caring for LGBTQ+ Populations in
Rural Kansas" as part of its Navigating Rural
Health Resources webinar series.
Who are LGBTQ in Kansas?
Presenter Tori Gleason, DC, a clinical analyst
at LMH Health in Lawrence, Kansas, shared
statistics compiled by the UCLA Williams
Institute estimating 92,000 total LGBTQ+
individuals (age 13 and older) in Kansas,
comprising 3.3% of the state's population.
Over half (57%) are ages 18-34. One-third of
LGBTQ adults age 25 and older are raising
children. Regarding work and education,
there are 56,000 LGBTQ+ workers (4% of the
workforce), though 30% have an income
less than $24,000; 43% have a high school
education. Other socioeconomic indicators
reveal that 33% are food insecure and 20%
are uninsured.
The misperception is that all LGBTQ+ Kansans
live in the state's most populous urban
areas, but that is not true. According to a
2019 report, "Where We Call Home: LGBT
People in Rural America," U.S. Census and
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) data suggest that 15% to 20% of the
total U.S. LGBT population live in rural areas
around the country.
Understanding Gender Identity Terms
An NPR article, "A Guide to Gender Identity
Terms," provides a simple glossary to help
people understand and communicate
respectfully and accurately with one
another.
Gender identity is one's internal sense of
self and gender, whether male, female, a
combination of both, or neither. Gender
identity, unlike gender expression, is not
outwardly visible to others.
birth but whose gender identity is female.
READ MORE
LGBTQ+ individuals in rural areas face barriers to care
due to the unavailability of resources, a lack of cultural
humility, and insufficient training for medical providers
and healthcare staff.
