Methods and Measurement in Sexual & Gender Minority Health Research

Illustration of people viewing graphs and charts

The NIH Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office (SGMRO) recognizes the growing need to develop better measures and methods to accurately capture and understand the health of sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations. The information provided highlights work within the field of SGM methods and measurement. These resources are not exhaustive. They may be useful for those looking to better understand how to capture SGM populations in research and clinical settings but do not represent standards required by NIH.

 

Just Released!

Measuring Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation
A Consensus Study Report of The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine

Commissioned by NIH in 2020, the report highlights the current evidence base, recommends specific measures for use, and identifies research opportunities. Click here to see the pre-publication version of the report, released March 9, 2022. Click here to read report highlights.

The following issue briefs are now available for download: 

 

 

 

 

Data and Measurement Frameworks

Activities and Related Resources

April 2018 Workshop: Methods and Measurement in Sexual & Gender Minority Health Research

Summary of Workshop

In April 2018 the SGMRO hosted a workshop that covered three areas of research: SGM status, related measures, and sampling. The workshop, entitled Methods and Measurement in Sexual & Gender Minority Health Research, was guided by the schema below. For each of these primary topics, experts in the field considered the current state of research and identified a number of research opportunities that, if explored, would advance the field of SGM-related measurement research.

Methods and Measures in SGM-Related Health: Developing a Research Agenda. 3 boxes: Measurement-SGM Status; Measurement-Related Constructs; and Sampling Methods. Intersectionality; Life Span Perspective; Culture; Historical Context/Cohort Efforts

Summary of Comments on Methods & Measurement in Sexual & Gender Minority Health Research (Released September 2019)

Following the April 2018 workshop, to obtain additional comments on the specific components of the Methods & Measurement in Sexual & Gender Minority Health Research: Developing a Research Agenda and Identifying Research Opportunities report for the purposes of informing and enhancing its content, a public notice was published in the Federal Register on March 15, 2019. The deadline for comments was April 15, 2019. Comments received during that period are summarized here.

This page last reviewed on November 9, 2022