QWELL Measures Local LGBTQIA+ Wellbeing
Nearly 8,000 LGBTQIA+ Greater Austin residents have participated in QWELL’s annual qwellbeing.org survey, conducted in collaboration with researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and Dell Medical School.
The 6 dimensions of wellbeing were defined by Rand Corporation and the City of Santa Monica through research funded with a $1MM grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
1
PHYSICAL HEALTH
Local LGBTQIA+ people say their physical health is their #1 concern.* They need convenient, affordable access to competent healthcare providers, nutrition and fitness support, and the tools to live long, healthy lives in Austin.
2
MENTAL HEALTH
Mental health is the cornerstone of good quality of life. When LGBTQIA+ individuals, families, and communities have tools to help them understand and manage their thoughts and feelings, our people flourish.
3
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS & RELATIONSHIPS
LGBTQIA+ people’s bonds with family, partners, friends, and people around us are a huge part of what makes us feel good or bad about life. Research proves that human beings thrive in a intergenerational, diverse, positive social structure.
4
LIVING ENVIRONMENT
The place around you matters. Your physical environment, natural or humanmade, impacts your wellbeing. Housing affordability, mobility, and the political landscape also affect your health. Austinites deserve healthy, safe places to live as openly LGBTQIA+ people of any age.
5
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Skills training and lifelong learning, in and out of an LGBTQIA-competent classroom, promote mental development, personal growth, and challenging experiences. Some learning opportunities – for example, sexual health education – need to be available for all LGBTQIA+ adults as well as youth.
6
ECONOMIC SITUATION
Austin’s vibrant economy should include LGBTQIA-welcoming job training, employment, and chances for advancement, to create an environment where all LGBTQIA+ people can afford to make ends meet and may achieve all they hope to accomplish.