SAMPLING HOMOSEXUALS, BISEXUALS, GAYS, AND LESBIANS FOR PUBLIC-HEALTHRESEARCH - A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE FROM 1990 TO 1992

Our objective was to examine the representativeness of samples of homo sexuals, bisexuals, gays, and lesbians obtained for public health rese arch. We identified journal articles cited in Medline and published be tween 1990 and 1992 that sampled individuals and classified them as ho mosexual, bisexual, gay, and/or lesbian. Information was abstracted fr om these articles to evaluate four components of sample selection affe cting the representativeness of samples: (1) how the population is con ceptually defined, (2) how the sampled population is operationally ide ntified, (3) the setting from which samples are selected, and (4) the use of probability sampling to select subjects. We identified 152 publ ic health articles published between 1990 and 1992 that sampled homose xuals, bisexuals, gays, and/or lesbians. We found articles (1) rarely (4/152) conceptually defined the population they were sampling, (2) us ed a range of incomparable methods to identify and select subjects, (3 ) sampled from settings representative of dramatically different popul ations, and (4) rarely (3/152) used probability sampling. Overall, we find methods used to identify homosexuals, bisexuals, gays, and lesbia ns for public health research produce samples representative of differ ent and sometimes unidentifiable populations. To understand these popu lations from a public health perspective, it is imperative that steps be taken by researchers to standardize population definitions and samp ling methodologies.