The AAMC submitted a July 15 letter (PDF) to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in response to their request for information (RFI) on the NIH-wide strategic plan for sexual and gender minority (SGM) health research for fiscal years (FY) 2026-30. The plan is intended to “describe future directions in [SGM] health and research to optimize NIH's research investments.”
In 2015, the AAMC provided recommendations on the 2016-20 strategic plan [refer to Washington Highlights, Nov. 4, 2015], commending the NIH for its commitment to advance SGM health research and recommending robust input from diverse SGM individuals and communities. In its recent letter, the AAMC reiterated many of the recommendations from the 2015 letter, in addition to the following:
- Include the term “LGBTQIA+ populations” or “SGM populations” in the identified goals to ensure members of these communities, as well as organizations that are not current NIH partners, are specifically included in the development of the NIH's SGM research priorities and agenda.
- Identify barriers to workforce participation, such as circumstances that might lead to further marginalization and negative impacts on the progress of research and local SGM research partnerships.
- Establish authentic, long-term community partnerships with SGM populations by implementing practices and policies that increase trustworthiness, per the AAMC Center for Health Justice’s Principles of Trustworthiness.
- Standardize the collection of sexual orientation and gender identity data in NIH programs and initiatives. This is especially timely given recent revisions to the White House Office of Management and Budget’s standards for collecting race and ethnicity data and the requirement for agency’s to develop race and ethnicity action plans by 2025 [refer to Washington Highlights, April 21, 2023].