Flourishing Levels Among LGBTQ+ Graduate Students in Health Fields: A Quantitative Analysis of the Healthy Minds Survey

Increasing workforce diversity in health professions is critical to reducing health disparities in marginalized populations, yet little is known about the well-being of LGBTQ+ graduate students pursuing careers as health providers. This study examined whether LGBTQ+ graduate students in health professions programs experience lower rates of flourishing compared to their heterosexual/cisgender peers. Using data from the Healthy Minds Study (2024-2025) of U.S. graduate health professions students (N = 3,008), we employed descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regression to assess flourishing disparities and identify protective factors. LGBTQ+ students (n = 649) demonstrated significantly lower odds of flourishing (OR = 0.516; 95% CI: 0.424-0.628). In the full sample, significant predictors of flourishing included sex/gender, race/ethnicity, age, field of study, school belonging, depression, and anxiety (all p < 0.001). Within the LGBTQ+ subsample, depression emerged as the strongest barrier to flourishing (OR = 0.175; 95% CI: 0.113-0.270) and school belonging as the most protective (OR = 1.969; 95% CI: 1.357-2.857). Race/ethnicity and anxiety were not significant predictors in this subsample. Findings underscore substantial flourishing disparities for LGBTQ+ graduate health professions students and identify school belonging as a critical intervention target.