BU CISS Highlights Research by Profs. Alvarez-Hernandez & Jacobson López that Advances LGBTQIA+ Health
Members of the LGBTQIA+ community—particularly those with intersecting marginalized identities—are more likely to experience mental health issues, substance use disorders, and barriers to accessing care, a fact that is often misunderstood by healthcare providers. To educate the healthcare industry and increase more inclusive, sensitive, and effective care for queer communities, Profs. Luis Alvarez-Hernandez and Daniel Jacobson López from BU School of Social Work (BUSSW) have developed research that aims to reduce these healthcare disparities. The BU Center for Innovation in Social Science (CISS) awarded them research grants in 2023 and 2022 respectively and recently interviewed the professors to better understand how their work has progressed over the past few years.
Excerpt from “CISS Grant Recipients Advance Understanding of LGBTQIA+ Health” by Deborah Carr:
Dr. Daniel Jacobson López, an assistant professor at BUSSW, received a CISS 2022-2023 Pilot Grant to support his work on trauma-informed clinical care for LGBTQ+ sexual assault survivors. This year, Dr. Jacobson López continued his research at the Yale University Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA). ‘I found that many medical professionals lack the necessary training to understand the unique experiences of LGBTQ+ survivors, leading to re-traumatization rather than healing,’ he shares.
Dr. Luis Alvarez-Hernandez, an assistant professor in the School of Social Work was awarded the CISS Funded 2023-24 Undergraduate Internships grant. This grant sponsored intern Alexis Flores Pineda (CAS ’26/Political Science) to work with Dr. Alvarez-Hernandez on a project titled “Familial Stigma and Social Support among HIV+ Latinx LGBTQ+ Individuals and their families in South Texas.” This research focuses on the impact of familial stigma and the role of social support networks on the well-being of individuals living with HIV in the Rio Grande Valley.”