Issue
The Sexual and Gender Minority Research Office coordinates sexual and gender minority-related research and activities within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Office is required to regularly update its strategic plan with input from various stakeholders, including health, research, and related communities.
Impact
The Office’s strategic plan provides the NIH with a framework to improve the health of sexual and gender minority populations through research and support of others conducting research. The Office is committed to refining the plan to best meet the needs of the community based on recommendations from stakeholders.
Summary
This comment conveys the importance of sustained attention to transgender populations in NIH research. The comment recommends that the Office adopt a plan that prioritizes community-based participatory research as a strategy to promote health equity. In addition, given the need for large samples to examine health patterns across intersecting social statuses, the NIH should consider funding mechanisms to support large data collection efforts.