Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people: key data sources

Both sexual orientation and sexual behaviour are clearly sensitive data items and questions need to be asked with care. Recording self-defined sexual orientation is of importance both in terms of individual and population health. Unfortunately, there are very few routine data sources on the health of the lesbian, gay and bisexual population (LGB).

Reviews

Information about the sources of data on equality and diversity within the NHS can be found on the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality webpages of the Scottish Government website site. It may be technically possible to identify same sex co-habitations from routine data sources. The National Centre for Social Research carried out a review of international research methodologies and data sources on sexual orientation, which contains a useful summary of some key national surveys that could provide information about same sex-cohabitations. This review has been published by the Scottish Government under the title Sexual Orientation Research Phase 1.

Census

The 2011 census collected information on same-sex civil partnerships. Although questions on sexual orientation were piloted, they were not included in the Census. Census 2011 results are expected to be available in 2013.

The 2001 Census recorded the number of people who reported living with someone of the same sex (available online within SCROL - Scotland's Census Results On Line via the SCROL analyser - see table UV49), but did not collect information about the sexual orientation of the population.

Civil partnerships

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) website contains information about uptake of civil partnerships since the legislation was introduced including monthly and quarterly data by area of formation, sex and age at formation. Information on civil partnerships formed in Scotland (98Kb) from the start of civil partnerships in 2005 to 2010 is held on the National Records Scotland (NRS) website (scroll down to see links to tables)

National Surveys

The Better Together survey data from 2010 was analysed by sexual orientation in the  Variations in the Experiences of Inpatients in Scotland report (2011). This contains information on how the experience of LGB patients differs from that of other patients. Out of 56 questions asked, nine of the ten differences found between LGB and heterosexual patients were accounted for by the younger age structure of the LGB patient population. The one experience reported as worse by LGB people was that of overall arrangements for leaving hospital.  

The National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (NatSAL) (Johnson et al, 2001, see key references) was carried out in 1990 and 2000. The third NatSAL study started in 2010 and will be published in 2013. These surveys collect information from the British population (including Scotland) about sexual behaviour and were prompted by the lack of information available when HIV and AIDS first appeared in Britain. The surveys include information about cohabitation history, types of homosexual or heterosexual experience and number of partners. Of the participants in the survey carried out in 2000, 5.4% of men and 4.9% of women reported that they had ever had a same-sex sexual partner. The same survey found that 8.4% of men and 9.7% of women reported having any homosexual experience ever.

Prescription for Change reports the results of a UK wide survey of lesbian and bisexual women carried out in 2007 by Stonewall. The main report does not describe sampling methods or response rates and so it is not clear how representative the survey was. However, the sample size was large (6178 women) and very few such surveys achieve rigorous representativeness, so the survey represents a unique and important source of information. In addition, a more detailed breakdown of results (to Health Board level) has been published for the 514 Scottish respondents in the Prescription for Change Scotland report (3110Kb). It should be noted that the number of respondents are small for some Scottish NHS boards and that results for these boards should therefore be treated with caution.

A 2012 Stonewall report on Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual People in Later Life (286Kb) provides insights on health issues for older LGBT people.

Workforce

The Scottish Workforce Information Standard System (SWISS) collects information about the sexual orientation of those employed within the NHS in Scotland for the purposes of monitoring discrimination and supporting equal opportunities policy. The provision of information is voluntary and valid responses include "declined to answer".