Lesbian health research: a review and recommendations for future research

Prior to 1990 lesbians were "invisible" in health care research. Researchers who asked questions specifically about lesbian health concerns were rare, and the burgeoning research on women's health seldom included variables that measured sexual orientation or behavior. In the last decade, however, lesbian health has emerged as a major area of study. A 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on Lesbian Health has outlined the challenges and gaps in this area of research and has called for focus and funding on specific areas of need. In this article I review research on lesbian health, discuss methodological issues specific to this area of research, and summarize the recommendations of the IOM report.